According to Fox News, Border Patrol Officers in Escondido, California have been busy celebrating Christmas early by raking in the cash a few days before Santa is due to make his arrival. In its largest confiscation of cash in San Diego County to date, United States Border Patrol Officers seized three million dollars from two vehicles heading south to Mexico.
A Kia Forte sped past Border Patrol Agents who followed the vehicle off the freeway. The Border Patrol vehicle turned on its lights and sirens to get the Kia to pull over for the traffic violation. While searching the vehicle, agents found over $34,000 dollars in vacuum packed plastic packages stored in the center console.
A second vehicle, a Volkswagen Passat traveling with the Kia, raced away but was later found abandoned in a cul-de-sac. After a short search, Border Patrol Agents found the driver of the second vehicle. He had hidden in the brush nearby in an attempt to avoid being detained.
Authorities say, hidden in cardboard boxes inside the trunk of the Passat, they discovered over $3 million US dollars in cash. The cash was being smuggled from the U.S. into Mexico.
Both drivers pleaded not guilty on Wednesday, December 21, 2016, to federal currency smuggling charges.
