McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — Bundles containing over $79,000 in unreported U.S. cash was found inside a vehicle trying to cross south into Reynosa, Mexico, from South Texas, U.S. Customs and Border Protection says.
The currency was seized Monday at the McAllen-Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge from an older model car driven by a 58-year-old Mexican national whose vehicle was sent to secondary examination, CBP officials said Tuesday.
A CBP officer screens vehicles at the McAllen-Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge. Cash and weapons often are sent south of the border, while undocumented migrants and drugs are sent north by trans national criminal organizations. (Sandra Sanchez/Border Report File Photo)
Officers discovered five packages of cash totaling $79,392 hidden inside the vehicle that was headed to Mexico, CBP says.
“Our frontline CBP officers utilized their training and experience along with technology in the outbound environment and prevented a significant amount of unreported currency from going south,” said Carlos Rodriguez, port director for Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas. “These types of bulk cash seizures, often proceeds from illegal activity, deny transnational criminal organizations the ability to profit from their illicit enterprises and exemplify CBP’s ongoing commitment to our priority border security mission.”
Officials screened the vehicle using non-invasive technology and noted an anomaly with the 2008 Honda car, CBP says.
Officials on the border are on the lookout for cash and weapons heading south into Mexico, which are used to fund and support drug-cartel activity.
It is not illegal to bring in large amounts of currency into or out of the United States, but amounts of $10,000 must be declared to federal agents.
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.
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