Snoop Dogg has had more than US$200,000 seized by Italian police.

The Drop It Like It's Hot rapper was stopped at an airport in Calabria, Italy, on Saturday as he tried to board a private plane to England, and officers discovered US$422,000 in cash inside his luggage.

In a bid to curb money laundering, countries in the European Union (EU) prohibit airline passengers from carrying more than €10,000 ($11,000) in undeclared cash, so the authorities seized US$205,933 of Snoop's money.

The Peaches n Cream hitmaker, whose real name is Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr, told police the cash was to pay his band for concerts in Italy and elsewhere, a source told CNN.

The finance police will now open an investigation into his concert in Montepaone and how the rapper was paid.

The 43-year-old star's Italian lawyer, Andrea Parisi, said Snoop will have to pay a fine and the authorities will retain the cash until the amount of the penalty is set.

He added: "We clarified everything from a legal point of view. The money came from concerts he had performed around Europe. There was no crime. it was just an administrative infraction."

The incident came a week after Snoop was arrested on suspicion of using illegal drugs and made to do a urine test following a show in Sweden.

A police spokesman, Daniel Nilsson, explained Snoop had "seemed to be under the influence" which is why they had taken him into the station.

He said in a statement: "Police carrying out roadside controls noticed that Snoop Dogg (whose car was pulled over) seemed to be under the influence of narcotics. He was arrested and taken to the police station to take a urine test. The incident lasted several minutes. Once the test was carried out he left."