June 8, 2009

Border a hot zone for stashed cash

By Lynn Brezosky - Express-News

BROWNSVILLE — When a customs official in Hidalgo questioned Aurora Garcia about the lumps of cash under her shirt, the then-25-year-old said she was carrying the $50,000, all her own money, to buy a house across the border in Reynosa.

But when a search by a female agent found nearly $120,000, Garcia’s story changed. She admitted that the money wasn’t hers but came from a friend named “Betoâ€