CBP officers in Detroit had their own version of March madness, when they seized around $370,000 total in cash from travelers at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, and another $100,000 at the Ambassador Bridge that connects the US & Canada (these figures are according to CBP’s really awesome currency seizure dashboard).
I was away from X/Twitter for a while but checked back in when I learned a new Director of Field Operations was appointed for the Detroit Field Office at CBP. Lo, and behold, there was lot of publicized seizure activity for March. A bonus was the high-res images images of the seized currency for a few cases for the month. So here is a walk-through of those seizure incidents for March 2024:
On March 1, there was a total of $30,000 seized (in more than one incident) at Detroit Metropolitan airport for passengers arriving in the United States:
Officers at @DTWeetin seized more than $30K in undeclared currency last week from arriving passengers. 💰💸 Bring in as much cash as you’d like, but be sure to declare anything over $10,000 to a @CBP officer during your inspection. pic.twitter.com/Q24G59wcRy
— DFO Marty C. Raybon (@DFODetroit) March 1, 2024
Usually, people arriving with cash (who are usually not arrested) bring it with them for travel expenses, purchases, college tuition, and things of that nature.
On March 3rd, there was a total of $23,000 seized in combined amounts of U.S. dollars and Canadian currency at the Ambassador Bridge:
More undeclared cash to the tune of more than $23K USD/CAD was seized by @CBP officers at the Ambassador Bridge port of entry. 🔁💰✅ Declare all currency and monetary instruments over $10,000 when leaving or entering the U.S.
Learn more: https://t.co/5bjEq6qAhl pic.twitter.com/GesvYKeqxp
— DFO Marty C. Raybon (@DFODetroit) March 3, 2024
The activity at the Ambassador Bridge also includes travelers, but there’s always a good number of people gambling at Windsor or Detroit casinos who run afoul of the currency reporting laws when they’re crossing the border with their winnings.
On March 8, CBP seized $30,000 from someone leaving the United States for Amsterdam (probably where they would catch another connecting flight somewhere else….) at Detroit Metro Airport:
More than $30K was seized from an Amsterdam-bound traveler after he failed to accurately report the amount of cash he was traveling with to @CBP officers at @DTWeetin, March 8. There is no limit on currency entering or leaving the U.S., but anything over $10K must be reported. pic.twitter.com/NTq2gwOHM4
— DFO Marty C. Raybon (@DFODetroit) March 15, 2024
On March 23, a similar story with $22,000 seized from two travelers (seemingly traveling together) at Detroit Metro Airport on their way out of the United States (true story: most people don’t know they have to report amounts over $10,000 when leaving the country!):
Officers were conducting outbound inspections at @DTWeetin on March 12, which yielded more than $22,000 in seized currency after a pair of travelers misrepresented the amount of the 💰 in their possession.
Learn more about reporting requirements 👉 https://t.co/Rd804WrRCA pic.twitter.com/muefljNsrq
— DFO Marty C. Raybon (@DFODetroit) March 16, 2024