Officials at Miami International Airport Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized nearly half a million dollars trying to smuggle out the country.
Hard hit the mobs: Nearly half a million dollars were going to the Dominican Republic
According to the information disseminated, the money was found inside a padded chair that was part of a box with furniture to the Dominican Republic.
In total, $491,280 in cash that was not declared at the airport was seizing, an amount that is also not permissible under U.S. law, which allow a maximum of $10,000 to be exported out of the country.
A major cash stash seizure by U.S. Custom and Border Protection officers at Miami International Airport totaled almost a half-million dollars. The cash was being smuggled in a furniture shipment.@CBP @CBPFlorida @iflymiahttps://t.co/00R2y59kZ6 pic.twitter.com/lDk1WpAEmB
— CBS4 Miami (@CBSMiami) September 9, 2020
The authorities say that if someone carries more than the indicated amount, they must declare it.
“Criminal organizations are trying to export large sums of cash to wash their ill-gotten profits,” said Robert Del Toro, CBP’s Acting Port Director at Miami International Airport.
“This is a significant seizure and represents the impact we can have on the profits of criminals and was the direct result of our officer’s surveillance and work,” he added.
According to data provided by U.S. border protection officials, on an average day they seize about $207,000 in undeclared cash across the country.
Last year four American Airlines flight attendants were arrested at Miami International Airport for money laundering and illegal money mailing.
At the time, authorities found that some crew members of a flight from Chile carried more than $22,000 in cash.