CBP inspects international shipments, intercepts illegal activity.
DALLAS – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at the Dallas Fort Worth port of entry recently intercepted two separate shipments containing a combined $63,000 in counterfeit currency.
to the pages of two books.
Both of these shipments arrived to the U.S. via international shipping from Nigeria.
“Criminal organizations are not without imagination when exploiting opportunities to smuggling illicit cargo into the U.S.,” said Timothy M. Lemaux, Port Director, Area Port of Dallas. “As a law enforcement agency, our officers will take every opportunity to use their experience, training and attention to detail to intercept criminal activity.”
The most recent seizure occurred when CBP officers selected a shipment containing two soft cover books for examination, May 7. When officers flipped through the pages, the books appeared to be as described in the shipping documents. However, when officers flipped the books’ pages in the opposite direction, they found currency in denominations of $50 and $100 taped to the books’ inside pages. CBP officers seized $23,000 in counterfeit currency and the books.
in these packages of hair.
Last month, officers selected a box of wigs and hair for examination that arrived to the Dallas port of entry. When officers opened the packages, stacks of counterfeit $100s and $50s were hidden within the hair. CBP officers seized $40,000 in counterfeit currency and the hair.
Officers turned over the counterfeit currency to U.S. Secret Service. On a typical day in fiscal year 2019, CBP officers seized $207,356 in undeclared or illicit currency.