Nogales CBP Intercepts Nearly $300k Bound for Mexico

Nogales, Ariz. — Customs and Border Protection officers assigned to the Tucson Field Office, a component of CBP’s Joint Field Command-Arizona, arrested a Mexican national Saturday for attempting to smuggle nearly $300,000 of undeclared U.S. currency into Mexico.

During outbound inspections at the Dennis DeConcini Port, officers referred a 59-year-old man for a secondary inspection of his Toyota SUV. After a currency and weapons detection canine alerted to the center console, officers located a non-factory compartment containing several wrapped packages of U.S. currency. The vehicle and currency were seized. The driver was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

Individuals arrested are charged with a criminal complaint, which raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

CBP announced the JFC-AZ in February 2011 as an organizational realignment that brings together the Tucson and Yuma Border Patrol Sectors and Air Branches, as well as the Tucson Field Office, under a unified command structure. JFC-AZ integrates CBP’s border security, commercial enforcement and trade facilitation missions to more effectively meet the unique challenges faced in Arizona. Follow us on Twitter @CBPArizona or visit us at the CBP Arizona website for more information.

CBP's Office of Field Operations is the primary organization within Homeland Security tasked with an anti-terrorism mission at our nation’s ports. OFO officers screen all people, vehicles and goods entering the United States while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel. Their mission also includes carrying out border-related duties, including narcotics interdiction, enforcing immigration and trade laws, and protecting the nation's food supply and agriculture industry from pests and diseases.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.