Cash found after a routine callout could amount to more than €1 million

GUARDIA CIVIL officers on a routine callout found more than an 
overturned camper van.

It came to rest near a precipice on the Puerto de la Mora mountain
pass 40 kilometres from Granada but the Lithuanian couple who met them
had suffered only minor injuries.

After sending them to hospital for a checkup, the officers approached
the van and found a third Lithuanian inside, clearly affected by drink
and drugs.

He too was sent to hospital and the van transferred to Guardia Civil
headquarters in Granada where a search revealed an attaché case
containing €18,000.

Closer inspection revealed a hoard of notes under one of the seats.
This could amount to more than €1 million but the Guardia Civil are
still checking it.

“We want a bank to take the cash and help us count it, but this is
proving difficult owing to security problems and the procedures
involved in depositing this amount of money,” said Guardia Civil
sources.

The three Lithuanians, none of whom has a police record, insist that
the cash is not theirs.

They have not been arrested and unless the investigation uncovers
further evidence, they will be fined only for money laundering.
The maximum amount of cash that can be transported legally in Spain is
€100,000 or €10,000 if taking it across a border into another country,
regulations that were introduced to prevent money-laundering or
financing terrorism.