Police on the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba have arrested a Dutch national carrying over €800,000 in cash on money laundering charges, broadcaster NOS reports.

The man, about whom police will only say he is 39, was born in Suriname and lives in Amsterdam, was on his way to Miami.

He was taken into custody during a scheduled landing on Aruba at the request of the Dutch public prosecution office.

In May a transfer of some €19m from Surinamese banks was intercepted by the Dutch justice department in connection with a money laundering operation, NOS Suriname correspondent Harmen Boerboom said.

Banks have become wary of exporting euros since then and that means a ‘glut’ of euros has diminished the value of the currency.

‘It is now a lucrative business to transport cheap euros from Suriname and exchange them for dollars which are then used to buy more cheap euros’, Boerboom said. Based on the amount of money in his possession the arrested man could have made a profit of about $100,000, he estimated.