Cash-filled suitcase lands traveller in the dock

A UK-resident Maltese man has been released on bail after allegedly failing to declare a large amount of cash to customs officers as he tried to leave the islands.

40-year-old Omar Azumi was arrested at the airport departures lounge during the evening of March 4 after customs officers discovered the cash.

He appeared in the dock before magistrate Neville Camilleri this morning, accused of failing to declare that he was carrying over €10,000 in cash which he was transporting abroad. The amount he was carrying is thought to be close to €200,000.

He entered a not guilty plea and requested bail.

Azumi’s lawyer, Arthur Azzopardi told the court that the man’s employer had assured him that the funds were of legal origin. The accused had a fixed address in Malta and would not abscond, he said.

Prosecuting police Inspector Keith Vella did not object to bail as long as the bail guarantee was proportional to the eventual fine.

The court acceded to the request for bail, ordering the man to observe a curfew and not to leave the Maltese Islands against a deposit of €5,000 and a personal guarantee of €15,000.  

READ MORE: Customs seize more than €190,000 in undeclared cash