Yuma, Ariz. – Agents of the U.S. Border Patrol, a component of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Joint Field Command–Arizona, seized $176,380 of cash from a vehicle passing through a Border Patrol checkpoint, October 29.
| |||||
Wellton Station agents conducting checkpoint operations on Interstate 8 near milepost 78 referred a tan Buick sedan to secondary inspection after a canine team alerted to the vehicle.
After the driver consented to a vehicle search, agents discovered a duffel bag containing the bundles of cash, as well as a vacuum sealing machine. The suspect and currency were turned over to an Arizona Department of Public Safety officer assigned to the Drug Enforcement Agency Task Force.
Since launching the Southwest Border Initiative in March 2009, the Department of Homeland Security has made significant investments toward establishing a secure, safe border environment to improve the quality of life throughout Arizona communities.