CBP Seizes $145,860 in Unreported Cash

(Thursday, November 01, 2012)

Nogales, Ariz. — A 39-year-old woman from Nogales, Sonora, Mexico was arrested on November 1, for allegedly attempting to smuggle $145,860 in unreported U.S. currency into Mexico through the Mariposa port of entry.

Customs and Border Protection officers and Border Patrol agents conducting outbound inspections selected an Isuzu Rodeo driven by Judith Velarde-Acosta for additional inspection and found 13 packages of currency hidden in a black metal box behind the vehicle’s console panel. The vehicle and cash were processed for seizure. Velarde was turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations.
Nogales CBP officers arrested a 39-year-old woman from Nogales, Sonora, Mexico for attempting to smuggle $145,860 in unreported U.S. currency into Mexico through the Mariposa Port.
Individuals arrested may be charged by complaint, the method by which a person is charged with criminal activity, which raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent unless and until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The CBP Office of Field Operations is the primary organization within Homeland Security tasked with an anti-terrorism mission at our nation’s ports of entry. CBP officers screen all people, vehicles and goods entering the United States while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel. The mission also includes border-related duties, including narcotics interdiction, enforcing immigration and trade laws, and protecting the nation's food supply and agriculture industry from pests and diseases.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

CBP Seizes $145,860 in Unreported Cash - CBP.gov