Border agents in El Paso seize $52K from detergent box

Agents at El Paso border bridge seize $52K hidden in box of laundry detergent

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Published On: Dec 05 2012 11:08:45 AM CST   Updated On: Dec 06 2012 03:30:29 AM CST
border money seized detergent
EL PASO, Texas -

Border agents in Texas are trying to determine whether $52,000 in undeclared cash hidden in a detergent box was laundered money.

El Paso County Jail records show 36-year-old Edgar Lopez Chavez was being held Wednesday on a bulk cash smuggling charge. Online jail records did not list bond or an attorney for Chavez, who's from Mexico but lives in Aurora, Colo.

Customs and Border Protection officials say Chavez was arrested Monday when his southbound car was searched at the Bridge of the Americas. Officers found five packets of currency in the laundry detergent box.

Cash amounts of $10,000 or higher must be declared when traveling into or out of the U.S.

Port director Hector Mancha says every dollar seized is one less dollar available for criminal organizations.

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