Pisa: Drug seizures and cash controls at airport

At Pisa’s “Galileo Galilei” Airport, it becomes clear how closely economic and financial oversight is now linked to the fight against drug trafficking and smuggling. In 2025, the Tuscan airport handled around six million passengers, an increase of 7.8 percent compared with the previous year. As passenger numbers have risen, the Guardia di Finanza and the Italian Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM) have significantly expanded their presence and controls. Their aim is not only to uncover violations of customs and currency regulations, but also to intensify the fight against drug crime and other illegal flows of goods. One central focus of these measures is the monitoring of cash movements. The authorities systematically check the inflow and outflow of larger amounts of money, and travellers who carry substantial sums are required to declare them in accordance with current regulations. In the 2025 reporting year, undeclared cash with a total value of more than 2.16 million euros was discovered at Pisa Airport. In 194 cases, the officers imposed administrative fines. Part of the money was paid immediately as a lump-sum penalty, while in other cases five-figure amounts were provisionally seized until the legal situation had been clarified. Particular attention is paid to travellers who repeatedly violate the reporting requirements. Among the risk groups are passengers on flights to Albania and Morocco who have already been caught in the past five years carrying cash amounts above the permitted limits. Anyone who reoffends despite previous sanctions and is again stopped with undeclared funds must expect consistent administrative seizures and substantial fines. The authorities regard this as a key tool for cutting off illegal financial flows and potential money laundering at an early stage. In parallel with financial checks, the Guardia di Finanza and customs officers carry out targeted measures against the smuggling of narcotics. Supported by specialised sniffer dog teams, they inspect luggage, freight and suspicious areas in the terminal. Over the course of the year, several incidents were recorded in which travellers attempted to move drugs through Pisa Airport. In total, the officers seized 76.37 grams of hashish, 138 grams of marijuana, 5 grams of cocaine and additional small quantities of synthetic substances. Although these amounts may appear modest compared with major international trafficking routes, the authorities view them as important successes within a tight network of controls. The seizures show that drug couriers are active not only on long-haul routes, but also on popular holiday and commuter flights. Connections to destinations such as the United Kingdom, Tirana or Moroccan cities like Marrakesh and Casablanca are among the airport’s busiest routes. Criminals try to hide smaller drug quantities in luggage on these flights, hoping to disappear in the mass of tourists. However, a combination of officer experience, modern risk analysis and the use of detection dogs ensures that suspicious passengers and bags are repeatedly filtered out of the overall flow. Alongside narcotics, the fight against tobacco smuggling also plays an important role. During the reporting period, more than 69 kilograms of untaxed tobacco were confiscated in over one hundred documented cases. These controls are closely connected to efforts against organised crime: illegal tobacco flows often serve as a source of income for criminal networks that are also involved in drug trafficking. By combining checks on cash, drugs and tobacco, investigators are better able to identify structures and link up different strands of suspicion at an early stage. Officials interpret the results as evidence of a successful, coordinated approach. The basis is a cooperation protocol between ADM and the Guardia di Finanza that accelerates the exchange of information and facilitates joint inspections. This allows findings from cash controls to feed directly into drug or tobacco investigations and vice versa. For travellers, this means a visible presence of uniformed forces and occasional additional checks, but at the same time increased security and transparency. Taken together, the current figures paint a picture of an airport that is growing economically while also serving as an important checkpoint in the fight against financial crime, smuggling and drug trafficking. The seizure of narcotics, the consistent prosecution of undeclared cash and the confiscation of large quantities of tobacco send a clear message: anyone who tries to use Pisa Airport for illegal activities faces a high probability of detection and serious consequences. At the same time, the authorities stress that the vast majority of passengers travel without incident and that the measures are specifically targeted at those who abuse international travel routes for criminal purposes.