Currency seizures by U.S. Customs & Border Protection come in all sizes and every different set of circumstances imaginable. The vast majority of our clients have their currency seized when they are arriving or departing the United States at an airport by Customs for an alleged failure to report, bulk cash smuggling, or for structuring violations.
They say everything is bigger in Texas, and that also goes for currency seizures. Here in Michigan, we share a very larger border with Canada, but Canada does not have the same reputation as Mexico. So you can imagine the reasons people are transporting more than $10,000 between the United States and Mexico.
Here is one of the those stories that recently hit the news that involves seizure of $267,617 in two separate incidents. The first seizure was effect on a 74 year old man for $217,617, and the second was a 21 year old man with $50,000.
74-year-old male United States citizen from San Benito, Texas, was referred to secondary inspection, officers detected packages, which later resulted being unreported U.S. currency hidden within the vehicle.
On June 12 CBP officers working at the Brownsville and Matamoros International Bridge came in contact with a green 1999 Dodge Caravan as it attempted to make entry into the United States from Mexico. The driver, a 74-year-old male United States citizen from San Benito, Texas, was referred to secondary for further inspection. During the inspection and with the use of a vehicle non-intrusive imaging system, officers detected packages, which later resulted being unreported U.S. currency hidden within the vehicle. Officers removed and seized multiple packages of bulk U.S. currency totaling $217,617.
On June 13 CBP officers working outbound operations at the Brownsville and Matamoros International Bridge came in contact with a brown 1999 Chevy Tahoe as it attempted to exit the United States into Mexico. Officers referred the driver, a 21-year-old male United States citizen residing in Matamoros, Mexico for further secondary inspection. During the examination, CBP officers discovered five packages of bulk U.S. currency hidden within the vehicle, totaling $50,000.
If you have had your currency seized, please call our office at (734) 855-4999 to speak to a customs lawyer, or e-mail us through our contact page. We are able to assist with cash seized by customs around the country, including Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Orlando and many other places, and not just locally in Detroit.
