Woman with $71,300 stuffed in clothes was smuggling cash from Cuba to Florida, feds say

A woman who endured an international flight with $71,300 crammed in her clothes was made even more uncomfortable when federal agents arrested her at a Florida airport, federal prosecutors say.

Additional snooping revealed another $31,000 was in her luggage, officials said.

The stacks of cash were found in February as the 39-year-old woman from Tampa was returning to Florida from Cuba, according to the U.S. District Attorney’s Office, Middle District Florida.

“Despite telling U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents that she had no cash to declare, (the woman) concealed more than $31,000 in her luggage,” officials said in an Aug. 15 news release.

“Agents searched (her) and discovered an additional $71,300 in cash hidden in her clothes. In total, agents found approximately $102,700 in cash concealed both in (her) clothes and in her luggage.”

The intended destination of the $107,000 was not revealed.

Bulk cash smuggling into the U.S. is on the rise and is linked to overseas criminal activity, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reports.

“In recent years, the smuggling of bulk currency has become a preferred method for drug trafficking organizations and other criminal enterprises to move illicit proceeds across our borders,” ICE says.

“Congress criminalized the act of smuggling large amounts of cash as part of the PATRIOT Act” in 2001.

The woman revealed under questioning that “she frequently smuggled cash into the United States from Cuba,” and had been making up to three round trips a month since June 2023, officials said.

“She also told agents that she was paid between $1,000 and $2,500 each time she smuggled cash,” officials said.

She agreed to plead guilty to bulk cash smuggling and conspiracy to commit bulk cash smuggling, officials said.

She has not yet been sentenced, but faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison.

Homeland Security Investigations handled the case, officials said.

This story was originally published August 15, 2024 at 10:47 AM with the headline "Woman with $71,300 stuffed in clothes was smuggling cash from Cuba to Florida, feds say."