NEW YORK: Officers arrested a Mexican man last week, when he attempted to cross the B&M International Bridge without declaring nearly $49,000 cash.
Officers with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations arrested Jose Hilario Lopez-Gonzalez on Friday, according to federal court records and an agency news release.
Lopez-Gonzalez remains in federal custody and couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday. The Federal Public Defender’s Office in Brownsville declined to comment on the case.
Lopez-Gonzalez and another man, Emilio Gonzalez-Sosa, attempted to cross the international bridge in a maroon and gold 1994 Chevrolet C20 van, according to the criminal complaint and the news release. They denied having more than $10,000 cash — a standard question for people crossing the border.
Officers referred the van to secondary inspection, where they discovered $48,995 hidden inside the engine’s intake manifold, according to the criminal complaint.
“During an interview, Lopez-Gonzalez confessed to knowingly transporting the monies from Mesquite, Texas, back to Matamoros, Tamaulipas,” according to the criminal complaint. “Lopez-Gonzalez was to be paid $1,000 USD for smuggling the money into Mexico.”
Federal Magistrate Judge Ronald G. Morgan charged Lopez-Gonzalez with concealing United States currency to evade reporting requirements and attempting to transport the currency from the United States to Mexico.
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