Colombians Carrying $1.5 Million in Cash Arrested at Mexico City Airport

MEXICO CITY – Three Colombians were arrested when they tried to fly out of the Mexico City airport with more than $1.5 million in cash hidden in their luggage, the Attorney General’s Office said.

“The three passengers tried to leave the country without declaring the foreign exchange they were carrying in their double-bottomed suitcases, registered to Copa Airlines flight 428, whose destination was Panama City,” AG’s office special financial analysis unit chief Crisogono de Jesus Diaz said.

The suspects were arrested on Jan. 28 at the airport, De Jesus Diaz said in a statement.

The arrests were made following an investigation by the unit, the Mexican tax agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, the official said.

“Once the cash was seized, accounting procedures were undertaken and the quantity and authenticity of the money was documented,” De Jesus Diaz said.

Federal prosecutors turned over the three suspects to a court.