Sniffer dog Sophie finds €16,000 on passenger

A passenger who had just arrived at Malta International Airport from abroad was stopped after customs officials found that he was carrying €16,000 in undeclared cash.

It was the customs sniffer dog Sophie, dog is trained to sniff out money, that raised the alarm bell.

The incident occurred on Wednesday evening, while the Customs Canine Unit at the Arrivals Lounge of the Malta International Airport was performing routine checks.

Customs officials proceeded to ask the passenger how much cash he was carrying on his person, to which he replied €10,000. The officials, unconvinced about the declaration, searched both the passenger and his belongings, which is when a total of €16,000 was found.

The passenger agreed to forfeit the cash in excess of €10,000 as an out of court settlement as allowed by the law.