$200,000 seized from a passenger traveling to Nigeria at Philadelphia International Airport

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized more than $200,000 in unreported currency from a New Jersey passenger traveling to Nigeria at Philadelphia International Airport Sunday night.

A total of $200,319.54 was found in the luggage of the Nigeria-bound New Jersey man.  “This is CBP’s third largest unreported currency seizure in the Area Port of Philadelphia since the agency’s inception in 2003, the CBP said.”

According to Fox43 News, “Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Philadelphia’s, Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST), responded to the airport and debriefed the passenger. HSI has initiated an investigation and will examine the origins of the suspected illicit proceeds. There is no limit to how much currency or other monetary instruments travelers may bring to or take out of the United States. However, federal law requires travelers to report all currency of $10,000 or greater to a CBP officer and complete U.S. Treasury Department Report of International Transportation of Currency or Monetary Instruments, the CBP said.”

Joseph Martella, CBP’s Area Port Director for the Area Port of Philadelphia, said, “This is a significant amount of unreported currency for any traveler to be carrying, especially with today’s electronic systems that make transferring currency much easier. The most important lesson international travelers can take from this seizure is to truthfully report all currency in their possession to Customs and Border Protection officers when they arrive to or leave the United States.”

The passenger’s name has not been released.