Border Force Busts Italians Trying to Smuggle £818k in Cash at Stansted
Six Italian men were caught red-handed by Border Force officers at Stansted Airport on 2 February 2019, stuffing a whopping £818,025 in cash into their checked luggage. They were about to board a flight to Podgorica, Montenegro when officers stopped them.
Dodgy Cash, Dodgier Excuses
The suspects — Pietro Doca, William Cerri, Giuseppino Anfosso, Giovanni Piazza, Angelo Inferrera, and Nicola Anfosso — claimed the money came from selling high-end watches like Rolexes and Audemars Piguets. But they couldn’t back up a single word. No receipts, no bank statements, nothing to prove the cash was legit.
In fact, they couldn’t even say how much their watches had sold for, despite insisting the trades happened the day before the seizure. Plus, they claimed to be carrying £676,000 — a massive £142,025 less than what officers found.
Suspected Money Laundering Sting
The National Crime Agency (NCA) argued the cash was either laundered money or destined for criminal use. The group appeared to be couriering the cash for a mysterious third party, dodging lawful transfers through banks to avoid leaving a paper trail.
None of the men bothered to show up at Folkestone Magistrates’ Court on 10 March. The court ordered the full seizure of the cash, plus accrued interest and £5,099.50 in legal costs.
Branch Commander Mark Howes blasted the men’s excuses: “The accounts were given by these men regarding the origins of this cash just weren’t credible. Not only did they fail to declare the money, despite being given numerous opportunities to do so, but the way it had been stuffed into the suitcases clearly suggested it hadn’t come from a legitimate source.
The use of civil powers in cases like this allows us to target suspected criminal cash, which really helps deprive suspected criminals of their profits.”
