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Laredo, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Laredo port of entry seized nearly three pounds of heroin hidden in a 70-year-old Monterrey, Mexico man’s shoe soles and $14,492 in undeclared currency from the vehicle he was riding in.

The seizure occurred shortly after 2:30 a.m., on Friday, at the Lincoln-Juarez Bridge. A CBP officer referred a 1999 Ford Crown Victoria for a secondary examination. In secondary, CBP canine “Ronnie” alerted to the odor of narcotics emanating from the shoes of a 70-year-old male Mexican citizen passenger from Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.

A closer visual inspection of the shoes revealed a tape wrapped package within each shoe sole. The packages contained a total of nearly three pounds of brown heroin. The heroin has an estimated street value of $287,000. In addition, within the purse of a 67-year-old female Mexican citizen passenger, CBP officers discovered a total of $14,492 in undeclared currency. CBP officers arrested the 70-year-old male passenger and turned him over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agents who investigated the seizure and processed him on federal drug charges. CBP officers also canceled the entry document of the 67-year-old female passenger and returned her to Mexico. CBP officers seized the narcotics and the vehicle.

“Our officers maintained their vigilance, took a closer look, utilized their canines and their perseverance yielded a seizure of a significant amount of heroin in the shoes of an elderly traveler,” said Gene Garza, CBP port director in Laredo.

It is not a crime to carry more than $10,000, but it is a federal offense not to declare currency or monetary instruments totaling $10,000 or more to a CBP officer upon entry or exit from the U.S. or to conceal it with intent to evade reporting requirements. Failure to declare may result in seizure of the currency and/or arrest. An individual may petition for the return of currency seized by CBP officers, but the petitioner must prove that the source and intended use of the currency was legitimate.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.