Customs officers seize $159K in unreported US currency, 200 rounds of ammo at border

BROWNSVILLE, Texas — Customs agents in southern Texas seized more than $159,000 in unreported U.S. currency and 200 rounds of ammunition at the state’s border with Mexico, authorities said.

According to a news release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, officers confiscated the cash and ammunition at the Brownsville and Matamoros International Bridge on June 5.

Officers encountered a 36-year-old driver of a 2015 Chevrolet and his 36-year-old passenger. Both were Mexican citizens from Matamoros, according to the news release.

The vehicle was selected for a routine outbound inspection, and officers discovered currency totaling $159,531 hidden inside the vehicle, along with 200 rounds of .380 ammunition.

Officers seized the vehicle and Homeland Security Investigations special agents arrested the driver and passenger, according to the news release.

It is not a crime to carry more than $10,000 in cash, but it is a federal offense if a person does not declare currency totaling more than that amount to a customs agent upon entry or exit from the U.S., the release stated. It is also a crime to conceal the cash with the intent to evade reporting requirements.

“Our officers continue to conduct their inspections with diligence and their hard work led to this significant currency and ammunition seizure,” Tater Ortiz, the port director at the Brownsville Port of Entry, said in a statement.

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