Private persons have taken more than NOK 59 million from Norway to Turkey since 2011, and police intelligence unit PST (Politiets sikkerhetstjeneste) fears that much of its may be used to finance terror. Customs is stepping up efforts to nab those who don’t declare large amounts they’re taking out of the country.
International intelligence agencies believe terrorist groups are transporting both cash and weapons into Syria from areas around the border to Turkey. Newspaper Dagsavisen recently reported an increase in the numbers of people traveling from Norway to Turkey with large amounts of cash.
Customs authorities at the airport have specially trained dogs to sniff out large wads of cash being carried by airline passengers. Anyone carrying more than NOK 25,000 (around USD 4,100) must declare it before departure, but it’s fully legal.
The number of persons carrying such sums to Turkey rose by more than 60 percent from 2011 to 2012, reported Dagsavisen, to NOK 27.5 million. New figures show the increase continued growth, with 230 persons carrying NOK 14.8 million during the first half of 2013.
newsinenglish.no staff