O’Hare feds seize $125,000 headed to Pakistan

U.S. Customs agents seized more than $125,000 in cash from a family headed to from Chicago to Pakistan on Tuesday. Customs and Border Protection officers at O’Hare International Airport selected the family, traveling on Etihad Airlines, for an outbound currency verification examination, and the husband declared the family was leaving with only $17,000, officials said.

After $35,000 was found in his carry-on bag, a full search of his family’s baggage discovered $5,200 hidden in the pages of a magazine, $19,300 was hidden behind pictures in a photo album and $2,500 was found in a pair of children’s pants, customs officials said.

Cash was located in each piece of carry-on baggage the family had with them and an additional $7,800 was found in their checked bags, according to customs officials.

“Everywhere the officers looked they kept discovering more concealed currency,” said Janice Adams, CBP Acting Director of Field Operations in Chicago. “Money was hidden in every conceivable location.”

The total amount of undeclared cash seized was $125,849.

Although it is not a crime to carry more than $10,000 in our out of the U.S., it is a federal offense if the total is not declared to customs agents. Failure to declare may result in seizure of the currency and possible arrest, according to the agency.

In order to receive seized money, a petitioner must prove the source and intended use of the currency was legitimate.

“This is an outstanding seizure by our CDP officers working outbound operations at Chicago O’Hare,” Adams said.