Naples: over €5 million in undeclared cash seized at Capodichino airport

Rome, 7 January (LaPresse) – Undeclared currency, tobacco smuggling and drug trafficking: these are the main areas of focus for the control activities carried out at Capodichino International Airport by the Customs and Monopolies Agency and the Financial Police. During 2025, as part of ongoing operations to prevent and crack down on illegal trafficking, officials from the ADM – Local Detachment of Naples – together with finance police from the Capodichino Company intercepted undeclared cash totalling more than €5 million. The violations involved over 200 passengers and led to the application of penalties and seizures amounting to more than €220,000. The results, explain the investigators, are the fruit of a careful analysis of risks and air traffic flows, combined with experience gained in observing the behaviour of passengers in transit. The investigations made it possible to identify the main routes used for the illegal movement of money, in particular flights to and from the Middle East and North Africa, as well as the methods used to conceal it in order to evade customs controls. The money was found mainly in hand luggage or on passengers. The contribution of canine units specialised in currency detection, known as “cash dogs”, was also decisive in this context. At the same time, efforts to combat trafficking in foreign tobacco products and narcotics were stepped up, leading to the seizure of a total of over 150 kilograms of contraband tobacco and approximately 90 kilograms of drugs in transit at the Neapolitan airport.