The authorities of Misrata International Airport thwarted the smuggling of €700,000 euros to Turkey, according to local media.
The money was hidden inside a candy box, and was found in cooperation between the Internal Security Agency (ISA) and the Customs Service inside the airport.
In June, the ISA thwarted an attempt to smuggle a large sum of dollars and euros through an Afriqiyah Airways flight at Misrata Airport. In a statement, the agency said that the security forces seized $1.4 million dollars in addition to €1.3 million euros hidden in the luggage of two travellers who were on their way to Turkey.
The agency added that the seizures and the accused were referred to the competent authorities to complete the legal procedures against them. “The operation comes as part of the ongoing efforts to combat the crime of foreign exchange smuggling outside of Libya,” the statement concluded.
In December 2021, the ISA stopped another attempt to smuggle €326,500 euros to Turkey through Tripoli’s Mitiga airport. In a statement, the security agency said that four Libyan travellers were apprehended at the airport, as they attempted to travel to Turkey.
The agency added that it had taken legal measures against them, and stressed it was “ready and vigilant” in stopping smugglers.
The years of intense chaos and corruption caused the former United Nations Special Envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, to reveal the rampant financial corruption in Libya, and confirm its existence.
“There is a new millionaire every day in the country, and the middle class is shrinking day by day” Salame noted. The political class, he added, “is shamefully corrupt and fortunes collected from political ranks are being invested abroad. Politicians in Libya seize public money and invest it overseas.”