SAN YSIDRO, Calif. (KGTV) - A Brawley, Calif., woman is in custody after Border Patrol agents say she tried to smuggle $142,000 in undeclared money into Mexico.
Border officers stopped a 2011 Chevy Camaro at a San Ysidro border crossing just before 12 p.m. Thursday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said.
The vehicle was referred to a secondary inspection, where a CBP K-9 alerted officers to a jacket inside the vehicle. Agents discovered several wrapped packages of money inside the jacket's lining.
Agents continued their search and located more bundles of cash in the driver's purse.
Sixteen packages containing $142,395 in unreported U.S. currency were discovered in all.
The driver, identified as a 29-year-old woman, was turned over to Homeland Security. CBP seized the money and vehicle.
CBP said failure to declare currency or monetary instruments totaling more than $100,000 to CBP upon inspection - or to attempt to conceal it - is a federal offense.
