Science – Anas Al-Shaara
Two special types of smugglers were caught by the Spanish authorities. This time, the matter is not related to drug smuggling, as is usually the case with news that is widely circulated in various media outlets. Rather, it is related to a special smuggling operation of Moroccan historical coins.
The heroes of this incident, a Spaniard and an Italian, were trying to smuggle 113 silver dirhams and 4 gold coins, using forged documents, to justify the assets of their ownership, as the Spaniard, who was working as an auction manager in Spain, prepared them for his Italian partner.
A statement issued by the Spanish Ministry of the Interior, yesterday, Sunday, said, “Spanish police units arrested two people in Barcelona and Madrid, who were smuggling historical currencies of Moroccan origin, by defrauding the law using forged documents,” adding that those involved in the operation “are suspected of committing crimes.” Money laundering and document forgery.
Investigations into the circumstances of this incident began in April of last year, when the Spanish Interior Ministry explained that it had received a report from the Moroccan authorities stating that “they had intercepted an Italian citizen residing in Spain, in possession of historical Moroccan coins, as he was preparing to leave the Kingdom heading to Barcelona.”
The same source immediately confirmed the start of investigations, after the Spanish authorities received a notification from Morocco, of “the necessity of verifying the nature and origins of these currencies,” adding that these currencies had been purchased in Spain, as the Italian citizen claimed, which prompted the Moroccan authorities to request Sending pictures of these coins, she immediately received the answer that these coins “were never in Spain.”
The Spanish Interior confirmed to the Moroccan authorities that the documents presented by the Italian were forged, as Morocco sent pictures of the currency documents “presented by the detainee to prove the authenticity of the aforementioned pieces. The invoice for these documents was forged from the auction house in Madrid, and was prepared specifically to justify the ownership of the currencies before the Moroccan authorities, with the intention of “Telling them to buy it from Spain.”