Customs money dog to sniff around at the airport

Article published
13.12.2013 at 12:12
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Customs employees with a new puppy.
Finnish Customs has a money dog called Massi, a male Labrador born in May, which they are training to find cash. At the moment, Massi is still a puppy and getting to know his new team. Officially, he will start in his job in autumn 2014 after the training.

The obligation to notify the authorities of cash applies to people who are carrying at least €10,000 in cash upon arriving in the EU zone or exiting it. One of the tasks of Customs is to monitor the transport of cash in traffic between Finland and non-EU countries.

During January–June 2013, a total of 112 notifications of cash were made upon arrival in Finland, and 40 when exiting the country. The number of cash violations identified was 21. Massi's nose will assuredly identify more violations in the future.