SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — Border Patrol agents arrested a man in Escondido on suspicion of smuggling nearly $968,000 into the U.S. after they found the cash hidden inside his SUV, the agency reported Friday.
Around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, agents pulled the man over while he was driving a Volkswagen Touareg SUV on southbound Interstate 15 in Escondido, according to U.S. Border Patrol.
The driver, a 26-year-old Mexican was questioned by agents after a service dog alerted agents to the man's vehicle. Upon a search of the vehicle, agents found 65 plastic-wrapped bundles of cash totaling $967,460 in U.S. currency stuffed inside the vehicle's gas tank, according to the Border Patrol.
The man, whose name was withheld, was arrested and turned over to Homeland Security investigators. The cash and the vehicle were seized by Border Patrol.
