PHILADELPHIA — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized more than $93,000 from a Qatar-bound family for violating federal currency reporting regulations Tuesday at Philadelphia International Airport.
concealed, unreported currency from
travelers on Qatar-bound flight.
CBP officers conducted an inspection on departing international passengers and encountered a man, his wife and their five children. Officers explained the currency reporting regulations to the family and the father reported verbally and in writing that they possessed $12,000. During the inspection, CBP officers discovered a combined $93,393 concealed on the man’s, the woman’s, and their adult child’s bodies. CBP officers seized the currency.
International travelers may carry as much currency as they wish into and out of the United States. Federal law requires that travelers must report all U.S. and foreign monetary instruments totaling $10,000 or greater on a U.S. Treasury Department financial form. None of the currency is taxed.
“This currency seizure illustrates the importance and consequences of travelers complying with all U.S. laws, including federal currency reporting regulations,” said Shawn Polley, Acting CBP Port Director for the Area Port of Philadelphia. “The best way to keep all of your currency is to honestly report it all to Customs and Border Protection officers during inspection.”
Consequences for violating federal currency reporting requirements are severe. CBP may seized the violator’s currency, and file criminal charges.
CBP officers returned $3,393 to the family and released them to continue their journey.
“As the nation’s border security agency, Customs and Border Protection is charged with enforcing hundreds of laws and regulations at our nation’s international ports of entry,” said Casey Owen Durst, CBP’s Field Operations Director in Baltimore, the agency’s operational commander in the mid-Atlantic region. “CBP plays a critical role in helping to keep our communities safe, and it’s a responsibility that we take very seriously.”
This currency seizure occurred two weeks after Philadelphia CBP officers seized $39,225 in unreported currency from a Jamaica-bound traveler.
Travelers are encouraged to visit CBP’s Travel website to learn more about the CBP admissions process and rules governing travel to and from the U.S.
The Privacy Act prohibits releasing the travelers’ names since they were not criminally charged.
CBP’s Office of Field Operations
Almost a million times each day, CBP officers welcome international travelers into the U.S. In screening both foreign visitors and returning U.S. citizens, CBP uses a variety of techniques to intercept narcotics, unreported currency, weapons, prohibited agriculture, and other illicit products, and to assure that global tourism remains safe and strong.
On a typical day, CBP seizes $289,609 in undeclared or illicit currency along our nation’s borders. Learn more about what CBP did during "A Typical Day" in 2016.
CBP's border security mission is led at ports of entry by CBP officers from the Office of Field Operations. Please visit CBP Ports of Entry to learn more about how CBP’s Office of Field Operations secures our nation’s borders.
Learn more about CBP at CBP.gov.