Brothers found guilty of cash smuggling

By Leslie Berestein, UNION-TRIBUNE
March 11, 2010 at 5:21 p.m.

FEDERAL COURT— Two brothers who were caught driving toward Mexico with nearly half a million dollars in a duffle bag last year were found guilty Wednesday by a federal jury in San Diego of two counts each related to bulk cash smuggling.

The brothers, Ensenada residents Israel Del Toro Barboza, 31, and Adin Del Toro Barboza, 25, were stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers during a southbound inspection about 1:30 a.m. last Sept. 12 as they headed south through the Otay Mesa border crossing in a Chevrolet Astro minivan. Officers found $499,620 stuffed inside a duffle bag, plus $1,291 in additional currency in the brothers’ pockets and wallets.

The duffle bag was hidden inside a sealed cardboard box in the cargo area of the van, along with 38 other boxes filled with shoes and other merchandise. According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which investigated the incident, the brothers were traveling legally with border crossing cards and were posing as legitimate exporters.

ICE spokeswoman Lauren Mack said that since last Oct. 1, there have been 19 bulk cash smuggling suspects arrested attempting to leave through San Diego-area border checkpoints. Since then, more than $1.5 million has been seized.

Leslie Berestein: (619) 542-4579; leslie.berestein@uniontrib.com

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