Two Mexican national women were attempting to cross southbound into Mexico through a Nogales port of entry when CBP officers became suspicious and conducted searches. What they found — and what one of the women admitted — makes this one of the more straightforward bulk cash smuggling cases in the enforcement releases we cover. The full CBP release is available here.
During the search, a CBP officer noticed the woman appeared to be concealing something under her clothing, which turned out to be $20,000 in cash. A further search revealed another $13,400 in her shoes and $5,600 in a pair of pants she was carrying. Officers then found $10,979 in the woman’s purse, bringing the total amount seized to $49,979.
Two hours later, officers referred a 43-year-old woman from Nogales, Sonora, for further inspection as she was about to exit the U.S. through a pedestrian lane. A subsequent search led to the discovery of $11,361 in her purse. The woman told officers the money came from selling drugs and that she was being paid to deliver the funds back to Mexico. All funds were seized and both women were arrested on charges of bulk cash smuggling.
Why the Admission Changes Everything
The second woman’s statement to CBP officers — that the money came from selling drugs and that she was being paid to deliver the funds to Mexico — is about as damaging as a post-seizure statement can be. In most currency seizure cases, the path to recovering seized funds runs through demonstrating legitimate source and legitimate intended use of the money. Bank records, tax returns, business documents, real estate agreements — the evidentiary framework is designed to show that the currency was lawfully obtained and was going somewhere lawful.
An admission that the money is drug proceeds and that you are a paid courier eliminates both of those defenses simultaneously. There is no petition for remission or mitigation that can overcome a statement that the money is the proceeds of illegal drug sales. There is no intended use argument available when the stated intended use is delivering cartel money into Mexico. The civil forfeiture in this case is essentially uncontestable, and the criminal prosecution — bulk cash smuggling charges for both women — proceeds on a record that already includes a confession.
This is precisely why we emphasize so strongly that you must remain silent after a seizure and not make statements to CBP without an attorney present. The second woman’s admission did not help her — it foreclosed every legal option she might otherwise have had in the civil forfeiture proceeding and handed prosecutors a near-complete criminal case.
The First Woman’s Case — Concealment on the Person
The first woman’s case is worth examining on its own facts. Nearly $50,000 distributed across four separate locations — $20,000 under her clothing on her body, $13,400 in her shoes, $5,600 in a pair of pants she was carrying, and $10,979 in her purse. This is not disorganized hiding — it is deliberate distribution of currency across multiple concealment points, each individually significant. The body concealment alone — currency strapped under clothing — is the most direct form of bulk cash smuggling under 31 U.S.C. § 5332. Adding shoe concealment and clothing-item concealment on top of that creates a pattern that leaves no room for an innocent explanation.
Even without the second woman’s admission, the first woman’s case would have been extremely difficult to defend. The method, the amount, the distribution across multiple hiding locations, and the pedestrian crossing context at a southern Arizona port all point in the same direction. When the second woman’s admission is part of the same enforcement action — establishing that both women were part of the same drug-money courier operation — the government’s case on both becomes essentially complete.
Why These Cases Matter for Innocent Travelers
Cases like this one are important to understand not because most of our clients are drug couriers — they are not — but because they illustrate exactly what CBP is trying to prevent with the currency reporting requirement. The FinCEN 105 reporting obligation exists because large amounts of southbound cash are presumed to represent drug proceeds until proven otherwise. That presumption shapes how aggressively CBP enforces outbound currency laws at southern border crossings, and it shapes how hard it is to recover funds when the facts look like drug money even if they are not.
For someone carrying legitimate cash southbound through Nogales — paying for a property purchase, sending money to family, conducting a business transaction — the enforcement environment is the same as for a drug courier. The difference is that a legitimate traveler can prove their case: bank records showing the source of the funds, documentation of the intended use, a travel itinerary that is consistent with their explanation. That documentation, presented through a well-prepared petition for remission or mitigation, is the mechanism for distinguishing a legitimate transport from a criminal one. Without it — or without counsel who knows how to present it effectively — the outcome for innocent travelers can look uncomfortably similar to the outcome for actual couriers.
Has CBP Seized Your Currency?
If CBP has seized your cash at Nogales or any other Arizona or Texas port of entry, contact us before taking any other steps. Do not make statements to CBP or HSI without counsel. Read our customs money seizure legal guide or watch the video series, and see our currency seizure case outcomes. Call us at (734) 855-4999, send a text message, or reach us on WhatsApp. You can also contact us online.