Officers find $1.6M headed to Mexico



2013-06-11T00:00:00Z 2013-06-11T08:15:40Z
9 hours ago • Arizona Daily Star Arizona Daily Star

Two Mexican nationals were arrested in separate weekend incidents in connection with attempts to smuggle more than $1.67 million in U.S. currency into Mexico through Nogales crossings, officials said.
On Sunday, Customs and Border Protection officers conducting outbound inspections at the Dennis DeConcini Port referred Cosme Barcelo-Quijada, 56, a legal permanent resident alien who lives in Yuma, for further inspection, according to the Customs and Border Protection.
During a search of Barcelo-Quijada's Toyota truck, a CBP dog detected currency hidden inside the dashboard and roof. The unreported cash totaled about $1.66 million, a news release said. The money was seized.
On Saturday, officers at the Mariposa Port of Entry referred Jose Luis Verastica-Muñoz, 34, of Nogales, Sonora, for further inspection of his Toyota sedan. After a CBP dog alerted to the presence of hidden currency, officers searched Verastica-Muñoz and his vehicle and found unreported cash in his waistband and in the vehicle's dashboard, the agency said. The vehicle and $14,000 were seized.
The two men were arrested.
http://azstarnet.com/news/local/crime/officers-find-m-headed-to-mexico/article_34a7e866-d250-11e2-979a-001a4bcf887a.html