Officers find $500,000 in cash hidden in chair headed for Dominican Republic

Some folks in the Dominican Republic must be very pissed this week.

First, Customs officers at Miami International Airport discovered nearly $500,000 hidden inside a chair being smuggled out of the US. The cash was headed to the Caribbean country.

Then, soon afterwards, officers seized 135 pounds (61.25 kilos) of cocaine concealed inside a refrigerated container that arrived from – you’ve guessed it – the Dominican Republic.  The estimated value of the recovered narcotics is $1.5 million.

The US Customs and Border Protection officers found the $491,280 in the chair, which sat along with other furniture in a recent shipment bound for the Dominican Republic, the agency said in a statement.

Authorities selected the crate for examination during outbound enforcement operations, officials said.

“Criminal organizations will attempt to export large sums of cash to launder their ill-gotten gains,” said Robert Del Toro, the CBP’s acting port director.

“This is a significant seizure and represents the impact we can make on criminals’ profits and was the direct result of our officers’ vigilance and watchfulness,” he added.

Officials didn’t say whom the money belonged to or whether criminal charges would be filed.

Travelers bringing more than $10,000 out of the US must report it to customs officials. Failure to do so can lead to the money’s seizure and forfeiture, as well as possible criminal charges, officials said.

On a typical day, CBP seizes an average of about $207,000 in unreported or illicit currency along the US borders, the agency said.

It isn’t clear whether there is any link between the stash of the cash that was seized on its way to the Dominican Republic and the cocaine that was coming in.

However, officers were clear that it was a major find.

“Transnational criminal organizations continue to test our inspection capabilities by being very creative in the concealment methods”, stated Gregory Alvarez, Director of Field Operations in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  “Our officers’ expertise, along with technology, facilitates the detection and seizure of these dangerous substances.”