Customs Seize Undeclared Cash, Unsafe Food in Sète Port Checks for Morocco-Bound Ferries

"At the exit of French territory, the checks mainly concern the capital that is not declared," explains Yves Luck, regional director of customs in Montpellier, who took stock of the last six months of activity of the port customs. Passengers are required to declare capital exceeding 10,000 euros. "Since the resumption of traffic on March 16, we have made 800,000 euros in findings of undeclared capital. Last year we were on a base of 6.5 million euros, indicates the manager. Even if it is difficult to compare the years to each other due to the health crisis and the closure of lines, but we are in the average. About one million per month".

At the port of Sète, imported and undeclared goods are also checked. "We will find olive oil, semolina and sugar that are imported in large quantities," continues Yves Luck. In total, twenty-four thousand liters of olive oil have been seized and taxed in the first half of the year. "This represents for last year, sixty thousand euros of rights and taxes collected," he explains. Customs also seized food products unfit for consumption. "It is our role to protect the consumer. Since the beginning of the year, we have seized eighty kilos of meat and live snails, in this case it is mainly the transport conditions that are called into question".

Customs officers also seized and destroyed on site two hundred and eighty kilos of dairy products, six tons of fruits and vegetables, as well as four thousand liters of sugary drinks. Five hundred plants have also been seized since March. "Of course we also intercept cigarettes and tobacco. Drugs and tobacco are the subject of investigations and are therefore destroyed after the approval of the justice system. This is another step," concludes the manager.