CBP Officers at Eagle Pass Seize $69,000 in Undeclared Currency

EAGLE PASS, Texas – Two Eagle Pass teens were arrested Monday for attempting to smuggle more than $60,000 in undeclared currency out of the country.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Eagle Pass Port of Entry, conducting southbound inspections of pedestrian traffic leaving the United States, encountered the pair Monday evening. A CBP canine, trained to detect currency, alerted officers to the 17-year-old female and 16-year-old male.

The girl was found to have $48,501 on her while the boy was carrying an additional $21,475. The two teens were turned over to the Texas Department of Public Safety for prosecution on state money laundering charges.

“Seizing undeclared currency at ports of entry serves to deprive criminal organizations of their profits,” said Cynthia O. Rodriguez, CBP Port Director, Eagle Pass. “Such organizations think nothing of using children to further their criminal enterprises.”

The filing of a Currency or Monetary Instrument Report form is required for the transportation of negotiable instruments or currency in amounts equaling or exceeding $10,000 in or out of the United States. The legal requirement is contained in 31USC 5316.