CBP news releases have been lean lately on the currency seizure stories — the structuring, bulk cash smuggling, and failure to report cases that make up the core of what I handle. So I am reaching back to an older Laredo case that deserves attention. Two people heading to Mexico were arrested after CBP found $91,116 in undeclared currency concealed in their clothing and packages. Here is the full CBP account:
The enforcement action occurred on Thursday, March 25 at the Juarez-Lincoln Bridge, when officers assigned to outbound operations selected a 2017 Chevrolet Equinox traveling to Mexico for inspection. A 30-year-old male United States citizen driver and 19-year-old female passenger were referred for a secondary examination. Upon physical inspection of the driver’s clothing, packages containing $91,116 in undeclared U.S. currency were discovered. The currency was seized by CBP. Both subjects were arrested, and the case was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations special agents for further investigation.
Two Violations, One Enforcement Action
This case involves what I think of as the trinity of currency and monetary instrument report (CMIR) violations — and this one hits two of the three. The first is a straightforward failure to report under 31 U.S.C. § 5316. Anyone transporting more than $10,000 in currency across a U.S. border — in either direction — must file a FinCEN 105 form. Neither of these travelers did. That alone is a federal civil violation that would have justified the seizure.
But the second violation is what escalates this case. The currency was not simply undeclared — it was concealed in clothing and packages. That is the defining element of bulk cash smuggling under 31 U.S.C. § 5332: knowingly concealing more than $10,000 in currency with intent to evade the reporting requirement. Section 5332 is a federal felony carrying up to five years in prison, entirely apart from whatever other criminal activity the money may be connected to. Concealment is not a detail — it is a separate crime.
Why Both Were Arrested
The arrests are the tell here. As I have noted in other Laredo cases: the overwhelming majority of currency seizure cases — even those involving concealment — are resolved civilly. The money gets seized, the travelers are released, and the dispute proceeds through CBP’s administrative forfeiture process. When CBP seizes the currency and HSI arrests both occupants of the vehicle and opens a criminal investigation, it means law enforcement has reason to believe the money is connected to criminal activity beyond the CMIR violations themselves.
In the Laredo corridor specifically, southbound bulk cash is almost universally presumed by CBP and HSI to represent drug trafficking proceeds being repatriated to Mexico. The Juarez-Lincoln Bridge — one of four Laredo crossings — handles significant passenger vehicle traffic and is a known enforcement focus for exactly this type of outbound currency movement. A 30-year-old and a 19-year-old traveling together with $91,000 in cash distributed across their clothing in multiple packages is not a profile that suggests a legitimate business transaction. The arrests, the HSI referral, and the ongoing criminal investigation all point toward the government treating this as a narcotics-related case from the start.
The Passenger’s Exposure
One detail worth noting: the 19-year-old passenger was also arrested, not just the driver. This is significant because it suggests CBP and HSI viewed both occupants as participants in the smuggling, not an innocent bystander. In courier cases, passengers are sometimes recruited specifically because they attract less suspicion — a young female passenger alongside a male driver can make the vehicle appear to be a couple on a routine trip rather than a bulk cash transport. Whether that characterization applies here is unknown from the public release, but the fact that both were arrested means the government is treating both as subjects of the criminal investigation.
For anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation — arrested, with a pending criminal investigation and a civil forfeiture proceeding running in parallel — the most critical immediate step is to stop talking. Do not answer questions from HSI agents without an attorney present. Do not call CBP to explain the situation. Do not make any statements about the money, its source, or its intended use without counsel. Everything said after the arrest is part of the criminal record.
How These Cases Differ From What We Typically Handle
The cases in our office that result in successful return of funds are overwhelmingly cases where the money was legitimate — real estate transactions, family support, medical procedures, vehicle purchases — and where the violation was a failure to properly complete the FinCEN 105 reporting process rather than a deliberate smuggling operation. Those cases are civil forfeitures, no one is arrested, and a well-documented petition for remission or mitigation can result in full or substantial return of the funds.
A case involving concealment, two arrests, and an active HSI criminal investigation is a different matter. The civil forfeiture still runs — CBP will issue a notice of seizure and the standard election of proceedings deadlines apply — but the criminal case is the primary event and needs criminal defense counsel immediately.
Has Laredo CBP Seized Your Money?
If CBP at the Juarez-Lincoln Bridge, the World Trade Bridge, the Gateway to the Americas Bridge, or the Columbia Solidarity Bridge seized your cash, contact us before taking any other steps. Read our customs money seizure legal guide or watch the video series, and reach out for a free consultation using the contact options on this page.