【Como, Italy】Como, Brogeda Border Check: 12 Diamonds and Gold Bars Found in Car of Fake Tourists

Como, June 18, 2026 – Jewelers posing as tourists, traveling to Milan with 12 undeclared diamonds. They were discovered in recent days by military personnel of the Guardia di Finanza serving at Ponte Chiasso, who conducted the inspection together with staff from the Customs and Monopolies Agency.

The financiers stopped a car at the Brogeda highway border crossing, heading into Italy with two people on board. The two occupants responded that they had nothing to declare, claiming to be simple tourists heading to Milan.

During an initial check, a money counting machine was found in the passenger compartment, which prompted the military to continue by inspecting the luggage. Inside, they found a precious wedding band ring set with 12 diamonds, each weighing one carat, with corresponding gemological certificates; additionally, an unmounted diamond weighing one carat, accompanied by a gemological certificate; and seven gold bars with a total value of over 35,000 euros. This merchandise is considered equivalent to cash, as the gold purity exceeded 99 percent.

The owner of the goods turned out to be a jeweler with a business in Poland, and he explained that he was heading to Milan to make investments, and that he was fully aware of the customs declaration obligations, yet attempted to evade the declaration. The man was charged with smuggling precious items.

In the absence of commercial documentation, the value of the ring and the unmounted diamond is being quantified for the purpose of calculating evaded customs duties and the penalty. For two of the seven gold bars, with a total weight of 200 grams and a value of 25,000 euros, a violation of currency regulations was charged for exceeding the prescribed threshold of 10,000 euros. The goods have been placed under administrative seizure.