US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced on Friday that agents have arrested two men for allegedly attempting to smuggle more than $3 million dollars in illicit currency, marking the largest cash seizure ever in the San Diego sector.
Border Patrol agents tracked down two men traveling in separate vehicles on Interstate 15 in Escondido, a city located in San Diego County’s North County region. Agents discovered $33,830 in the center console of one vehicle, a Kia Forte, and $3,018,000 inside eight boxes in the trunk of the other vehicle, a Volkswagen Passat.
“This amount of money represents the largest currency seizure ever in San Diego Sector,” said Chief Patrol Agent Richard A. Barlow. “The hard work and perseverance demonstrated by the involved agents was essential for this outcome.”
The two men—a 53 year old male US citizen and a 41 year old male Mexican national—were turned over to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) are now facing federal charges for currency smuggling.
HSI, the investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, is responsible for enforcing bulk cash smuggling, which drug traffickers and other criminals rely on to move illicit proceeds across the border.
