Alleged money smugglers arrested at San Luis

Laundry detergent boxes and an engine transmission were the modes of transportation in two recent cash-smuggling arrests.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it recovered a total of $239,720 last week in two different smuggling arrests made at the U.S. Port of Entry at San Luis, Ariz.

One recovery was made when cash was discovered in boxes of laundry detergent, the other in a built-in compartment next to the engine transmission.

CBP said the first arrest, which involved a seizure totaling $119,620, was made Wednesday night when officers stopped a 2003 Chevy Silverado seeking to drive into Mexico through San Luis.

Officers brought in a CBP canine trained to detect currency after becoming suspicious of the driver's response to questioning. The dog alerted officers to the vehicle's engine and CBP began a search, reportedly discovering the built-in compartment hiding the bundles of cash.

The second arrest, which resulted in the seizure of $120,100, was made Sunday morning when officers became suspicious of the driver of a Ford Expedition. Officers began a  search of the vehicle, where they reported the cash was discovered in boxes of laundry detergent.

The drivers, 26- and 46-year-old unidentified men from Mexico, were turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for further investigation, CBP said.

Bulk cash smuggling over $2,000 is a crime, and CBP said it has been making more arrests since increasing its outbound enforcement operations. While it is never known specifically at the time of arrest what smuggled cash is intended for, ICE spokesman Vincent Picard said the money usually turns out to be proceeds from human or narcotics trafficking.

CBP also said that the people involved with this activity could be anybody, because smugglers are always seeking to blend in with normal border traffic.