SHARE
COPY LINK

CUSTOMS

Rapper Snoop Dogg held by Italian customs

Rap star Snoop Dogg has been stopped by police in Italy while carrying $422,000 (€384,000) in cash, authorities say.

Rapper Snoop Dogg held by Italian customs
Snoop Dogg. Photo: Theo Wargo / Getty Images North America / AFP

The singer was travelling through an airport in Calabria, southern Italy, where he had been performing.

Travellers within the European Union are required to declare €10,000 or more in cash.

NSA said half of the cash was impounded at the Lamezia Terme airport in Calabria under anti-money laundering codes.

It is now likely to be returned, with a fine deducted, the Italian financial police say.

He has not responded to his latest detention and his current whereabouts are unconfirmed.

Snoop Dogg played in Calabria last night and is scheduled to perform tomorrow at the Kendal Calling festival in England.

Last week, the American was stopped on suspicion of possessing drugs by police in Uppsala, Sweden.

Snoop Dogg – whose real name is Calvin Broadus – criticised what he said was “racial profiling” but on Friday it emerged that the rapper tested positive for narcotics in an initial drug test.

“Suspicion that a person is under the influence of drugs sometimes arises when the police are talking to a person,” said Christer Nordström, a spokesman for Uppsala police, when he explained the process to The Local.

“They are then taken to the station for a physical examination, that is, they have to leave a urine sample.

“You then use a screening tool called a multi-drug screen test which, after a few seconds, shows a certain colour and a number of test lines.

“Two lines indicate that the sample is negative and the case is dropped, whereas one line shows that there are traces of something, which results in a suspicion of crime.”

However, Nordström emphasized that the test is not conclusive enough in itself and the police will have to wait for the lab test, which could take a few weeks.

“If the lab test turns out to be positive, a decision will have to be made then and it will be in the hands of the prosecutor,” he said.