U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents at the Calexico port of entry arrested a California man traveling to Mexico last week after discovering more than $410,000 in unreported U.S. currency stashed in the door of the man’s SUV.
In all, 14 packages of cash totaling $410,980 were seized from a 1998 Ford Expedition after border authorities used an “imaging system” to inspect the car and detected “anomalies” in one of the SUV’s doors, according to an official press release from Customs and Border Protection. CBP officers also seized the car.
The driver of the SUV, a 32-year-old U.S. citizen and Los Angeles resident, was turned over to the Homeland Security Investigations division for further processing. He is now awaiting arraignment in the Imperial County Jail.
The press release reminds those traveling across the border of U.S. law regarding the reporting of currency:
It is a federal offense not to declare currency or monetary instruments totaling more than $10,000 to a CBP officer upon entry or exit from the U.S. or to conceal it with intent to evade reporting requirements. Failure to declare may result in seizure of the currency and/or arrest.