Customs officers at Miami International Airport were sitting pretty after discovering nearly $500,000 hidden inside a chair being smuggled out of the US, officials said.
The US Customs and Border Protection officers seized the $491,280 in the chair, which sat along with other furniture in a recent shipment bound for the Dominican Republic, the agency said in a statement.
Authorities selected the crate for examination during outbound enforcement operations, officials said.
“Criminal organizations will attempt to export large sums of cash to launder their ill-gotten gains,” said Robert Del Toro, the CBP’s acting port director.
“This is a significant seizure and represents the impact we can make on criminals’ profits and was the direct result of our officers’ vigilance and watchfulness,” he added.
Officials didn’t say whom the money belonged to or whether criminal charges would be filed.
Travelers bringing more than $10,000 out of the US must report it to customs officials. Failure to do so can lead to the money’s seizure and forfeiture, as well as possible criminal charges, officials said.
On a typical day, CBP seizes an average of about $207,000 in unreported or illicit currency along the US borders, the agency said.