Money Sniffing K9 Catches Cartel Curriers with Cash in El Paso

 

EL PASO – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at the Stanton Street bridge in the 'safest city in America' intercepted $89,031 in unreported currency headed for Mexico.

“CBP officers routinely conduct outbound inspections on traffic headed into Mexico,” said CBP El Paso Port Director Ray Provencio. “The outbound inspections are designed to identify and stop a variety of items including weapons, ammunition, and unreported currency.”

Undeclared Currency Headed for Mexico (Contributed/CBP)

Undeclared Currency Headed for Mexico (Contributed/CBP)

On August 14, 2022, CBP officers conducting outbound inspections at the Stanton Street bridge selected a vehicle driven by a 22-year-old Mexican citizen and passenger, 46-year-old Mexican citizen, for a routine inspection. Both occupants gave a negative declaration for currency.

During a secondary search and with the aid of a CBP currency-firearms detector K9, CBP officers located multiple packages hidden within the vehicle. The packages contained a total of $89,031 in unreported currency.

CBP officers seized the currency along with the vehicle and both individuals were turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations Special Agents for further investigation.

It is legal to transport any amount of currency or other monetary instruments into or out of the United States. However, if you transport, attempt to transport, or cause to be transported (including by mail or other means) currency or other monetary instruments in an aggregate amount exceeding $10,000 or its foreign equivalent at one time from the United States to any foreign country, or into the United States from any foreign country, you must file a report with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Failure to comply can result in civil and criminal penalties and may lead to forfeiture of your monetary instrument(s).

Subscribe to the LIVE! Daily

The LIVE! Daily is the "newspaper to your email" for San Angelo. Each content-packed edition has weather, the popular Top of the Email opinion and rumor mill column, news around the state of Texas, news around west Texas, the latest news stories from San Angelo LIVE!, events, and the most recent obituaries. The bottom of the email contains the most recent rants and comments. The LIVE! daily is emailed 5 days per week. On Sundays, subscribers receive the West Texas Real Estate LIVE! email.

Required

Most Recent Videos

Post a comment to this article here:

X Close