Border patrol seizes $104,000 from airport travelers

7:18 PM, Aug. 16, 2011
BY NAOMI R. PATTON
DETROIT FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Metro Airport seized more than $104,000 over the weekend from six travelers who tried to avoid declaring the amount of money they were bringing into the country, the agency said today.

Officers at the airport stopped the travelers from Pakistan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Nigeria and Iran, seizing $57,900 on Saturday and $46,600 on Sunday, the agency said. The people gave various excuses about not declaring the money, from not knowing the rules to not wanting to miss their connecting flight.

Not declaring more than $10,000 is a civil offense, punishable by seizure of the cash.

“It is not illegal to carry money into or out of the country,â€