A March 2016 cash seizure at the Interstate 35 Border Patrol checkpoint in Laredo, Texas illustrates a scenario that customs attorneys see repeatedly: a routine immigration-status question at a Border Patrol interior checkpoint escalates into a drug interdiction, a weapons seizure, and a currency seizure — all arising from the same traffic stop, all governed by different bodies of law, and all creating separate legal exposure for the traveler.
The original CBP press release reported that Border Patrol agents at the I-35 checkpoint stopped a truck for a primary inspection, referred the driver and passenger to secondary inspection, and ultimately found 12 bundles of marijuana totaling 252.8 pounds (street value approximately $202,560), a handgun, and an unspecified amount of U.S. currency. The driver was arrested; the drugs and the subject were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration; the handgun was transferred to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
On March 4, 2016, Border Patrol agents from the Laredo Sector Border Patrol thwarted an attempt to smuggle drugs, currency and a weapon at the IH-35 Checkpoint.
Border Patrol agents assigned to the Border Patrol Checkpoint on Interstate Highway 35 encountered a truck at the primary inspection lane. The driver and passenger were being questioned regarding their immigration status, and were subsequently referred by agents to secondary for further inspection of the vehicle.
While at secondary, agents conducted a thorough inspection of the truck, finding several large duffle bags with bundles inside, a handgun and currency inside the vehicle. The bundles tested positive for marijuana. A total of 12 bundles were removed from the vehicle with a total weight of 252.8 pounds and a street value of $202,560.00 USD. The subject was placed under arrest, and the narcotics and subject were turned over to DEA. The handgun was turned over to ATF.
Border Patrol vs. CBP Officers: Why It Matters Which Agency Seized the Cash
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the parent agency, but it operates through two distinct components with materially different roles, authorities, and enforcement footprints. Understanding which component seized cash is the first step in understanding the case.
The Office of Field Operations (OFO) runs enforcement at ports of entry — airports, seaports, and land border crossings. OFO officers are the uniformed personnel travelers encounter at passport control, at secondary inspection areas, and at outbound pre-departure screening. When a traveler is intercepted for a currency reporting violation at Laredo’s World Trade Bridge, at Dulles airport, or at the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, OFO officers are doing the seizing. OFO generates the overwhelming majority of CBP currency seizures nationwide — roughly 90% of total dollar volume over recent fiscal years.
U.S. Border Patrol, by contrast, operates in the areas between ports of entry — the stretches of rural border, the highways leading inland from the Southwest Border, and the interior checkpoints that are the subject of the Laredo case. Border Patrol’s primary mission is immigration enforcement, but agents have independent authority to inspect vehicles, question occupants, and seize contraband, narcotics, weapons, and currency encountered in the course of their duties.
Why does this distinction matter to the person whose cash has been seized? A few practical consequences follow:
- Different Fines, Penalties & Forfeitures (FP&F) handling. Both OFO and Border Patrol seizures are processed by CBP’s FP&F offices, but the fact patterns differ substantially — Border Patrol seizures more often involve narcotics predicates, weapons, and fleeing drivers, all of which complicate the mitigation analysis.
- Different documentary trail. OFO seizures typically involve FinCEN 105 reporting violations at a recognized border crossing. Border Patrol checkpoint seizures usually involve 31 USC 5332 bulk cash smuggling theories where the government argues the cash was being transported away from a border crossing, often with concealment evidence.
- Different parallel investigations. Border Patrol cash seizures that arise alongside drug or weapons findings are routinely referred to DEA, ATF, and U.S. Attorneys’ offices for federal criminal prosecution. The civil forfeiture proceeding is often paused (stayed) until the criminal case resolves.
The 100-Mile Border Zone and Why Checkpoints Exist
Border Patrol’s authority to operate interior checkpoints — miles inside the United States, on highways that have no obvious connection to an international boundary — derives from a body of federal law and court decisions collectively known as the “border search” doctrine and the 100-mile border zone. Federal regulations authorize Border Patrol agents to conduct limited inspections and stops within 100 miles of any external U.S. border, including coastal borders. The I-35 checkpoint north of Laredo sits squarely within that zone.
At a checkpoint primary inspection lane, agents may ask brief questions about citizenship and immigration status. If an agent develops reasonable suspicion of a violation — which can arise from an inconsistent immigration answer, nervous behavior, the scent of narcotics, visible contraband, or a positive canine alert — the vehicle may be referred to secondary inspection for a more thorough examination.
For currency cases, the 100-mile border zone matters because it defines where Border Patrol agents have Fourth Amendment authority to stop vehicles for limited inspection without individualized suspicion. A cash seizure 30 miles from the border at a fixed checkpoint is analytically different from a Fourth Amendment perspective than one 300 miles inland during an ordinary traffic stop. The American Civil Liberties Union’s border zone resource walks through the geography and the civil liberties implications.
Why Cash + Drugs + Gun = Three Separate Legal Problems
The Laredo seizure illustrates a crucial point for anyone whose cash is taken during a Border Patrol interdiction: when cash is seized alongside narcotics or a firearm, the case is no longer a simple currency reporting matter. Three distinct bodies of law apply simultaneously, each with its own forfeiture framework and penalty structure:
1. The currency seizure itself
If the seized currency exceeded $10,000 and was being transported toward or away from a U.S. border, the government will typically pursue civil forfeiture under 31 USC 5316 (failure to report) or 31 USC 5332 (bulk cash smuggling). Under the bulk cash smuggling statute, any concealment of the currency inside a vehicle is treated as evidence of intent to evade the reporting requirement — which turns a civil forfeiture into a felony prosecution carrying up to five years in prison plus forfeiture of the full amount.
2. Narcotics-related forfeiture
Independent of the currency reporting laws, the government can pursue forfeiture of cash under 21 USC 881 — the federal drug forfeiture statute — on the theory that the cash represents proceeds of drug trafficking or was intended to facilitate a drug transaction. In cases where currency is found in the same vehicle as a commercial quantity of marijuana or other controlled substances, this theory is essentially automatic. The evidentiary burden on the government is lower than a criminal conviction: the government need only show by a preponderance of the evidence that the property is connected to drug activity.
3. Criminal prosecution for the underlying offense
Federal drug trafficking charges (21 USC 841), weapons charges (18 USC 922), and bulk cash smuggling charges (31 USC 5332) all become available once a case moves beyond a simple currency reporting violation. In the Laredo case, the subject was turned over to DEA — meaning federal drug trafficking charges were anticipated, with ATF handling the firearms referral separately. A criminal conviction on any of these charges carries its own sentence, and a conviction strengthens the government’s parallel civil forfeiture case.
Laredo’s Outsized Role in CBP Currency Enforcement
Laredo is not a random port. Over the four most recent complete fiscal years (FY2022 through FY2025), the Laredo Field Office alone accounted for 880 currency seizure events and $23.9 million in seized cash — the second-highest field office total in the country, behind only Miami. When Border Patrol sector seizures in the Laredo Sector are added in, the regional footprint grows further.
The concentration reflects Laredo’s position on the I-35 corridor, which connects the busiest U.S.-Mexico commercial crossing (World Trade Bridge) to the interior of the United States. Outbound bulk cash smuggling — currency moving south toward the border to pay for narcotics — is the enforcement target at fixed checkpoints like the I-35 station. Outbound seizures across the agency average substantially higher per-event dollar amounts than inbound seizures, and Laredo’s outbound cases are a meaningful share of that national pattern.
For a broader analysis of port-by-port enforcement patterns, including Laredo’s position relative to other field offices, see our CBP Cash Seizure Data Report.
Has Border Patrol Seized Cash From You?
If Border Patrol agents seized cash from you at the I-35 checkpoint or any other interior checkpoint in the Laredo Sector, the process of recovering that money is substantially more complex than a standard airport reporting-violation case. The government’s theory of the case, the related drug or weapons findings, any arrest or criminal referral, and the interaction between the civil forfeiture proceeding and the parallel criminal investigation all shape what is possible.
Several points are worth knowing immediately:
- Do not call CBP or Border Patrol to “explain” the cash. Statements you make will be used in both the civil forfeiture proceeding and any criminal case. See: Remain Silent After a Currency Seizure.
- A Notice of Seizure will arrive by mail, typically within 30–60 days. You will have a narrow window (typically 30 days) to respond via the Election of Proceedings form. The option you choose shapes the entire case.
- Legitimate source and intended use of the funds are central. Even if a companion was separately arrested on drug charges, the cash seized from you may be recoverable if you can document lawful source and a lawful intended use. Documentation matters enormously — bank records, sale documents, loan papers, tax returns, and anything else tracing the money back to a lawful origin.
- Get counsel before responding. Border Patrol checkpoint cases — particularly those with drug or weapons findings — are not do-it-yourself matters. What happens in the first 30 days after seizure drives the outcome.
For the full procedural overview, see our Customs Money Seizure Legal Guide, which walks through the entire process from seizure to petition decision. For examples of how individual cases have resolved, see our Currency Seizure Case Outcomes database.
Currency Seizure Defense at Laredo and Other Southwest Border Ports
Great Lakes Customs Law represents travelers and importers in currency seizure matters at ports and interior checkpoints across the Southwest Border and nationwide. Whether the seizure occurred at a formal port of entry or at a Border Patrol checkpoint miles inland, the core procedural framework — Notice of Seizure, Election of Proceedings, administrative petition — is the same. The facts and the governing statutes are what shift. If your cash was seized at any of the following locations, follow the link for port-specific information and representation:
- Cash seized at Laredo Port of Entry — World Trade Bridge, Lincoln-Juarez Bridge, Colombia Solidarity Bridge, and Laredo Sector Border Patrol checkpoints including I-35
- Cash seized at El Paso Port of Entry — Bridge of the Americas, Paso del Norte, Ysleta, and El Paso Sector Border Patrol operations
- Cash seized at Brownsville Port of Entry — Gateway International Bridge, Veterans International Bridge, and Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol operations
- Cash seized at San Diego Port of Entry — San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, Tecate, and San Diego Sector Border Patrol operations
- Cash seized at Tucson Port of Entry — Nogales, Douglas, Sasabe, and Tucson Sector Border Patrol operations
- Cash seized at Houston — George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Port of Houston seaport operations
Jason Wapiennik also represents clients in currency seizure matters arising at ports outside the Southwest Border, including Detroit (Ambassador Bridge, Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, Detroit Metro Airport), Washington Dulles, Miami, Chicago O’Hare, and many others. See the full list on our customs money seizure legal guide.
Contact Great Lakes Customs Law
Contact Great Lakes Customs Law for a free consultation. Attorney Jason Wapiennik has represented travelers in currency seizure matters at Laredo and at ports nationwide for more than 15 years.