Argentine Customs Agents Confiscate Bibles Headed to US with $16,800 Illegally Hidden and Stuck on Pages
- Customs officers at Ezeiza International Airport last week seized $16,800 hidden in three Bibles
- The books were packed in a box which was delivered to the United States via DHL.
- A bible contained $10,000 hidden away. Another had $4,300 and a third had $2,500 spread across its pages.
A package being shipped from Argentina to the United States has been intercepted after customs officials discover a crafty criminal has illegally stashed thousands of dollars in an unexpected place: the Holy Bible.
Three Bibles containing $16,800 tied to their pages were seized before the box they were packed in could be loaded onto a DHL cargo plane at Ezeiza International Airport last week.
The seizure was made possible when a sniffer dog from the General Directorate of Customs detected an irregularity in the box.
Bust footage shows an officer pulling out a bible and opening it before turning the pages and encountering one that contained a $100 bill.
An agent from Argentina’s General Directorate of Customs opened a box containing three Bibles that were used to conceal $16,800 intended for shipment to the United States.
One of three Bibles seized by customs officers last week at Ezeiza International Airport contained a concealed $2,500.
Some pages of the Bible contained as many as four $100 bills stacked on top of each other.
He continued and came across several pages with four $100 bills superimposed on them.
The officer checked a second Bible, opened its cover, and saw four more $100 bills stacked on top of each other on the page.
Sources familiar with the investigation told Argentine newspaper La Nación that one of the bibles was filled with $10,000.
Another bible had $4,300 hidden away and a third had $2,500 spread across its pages.
The money was handed over to the Federal Revenue Administration as part of the investigation.
Customs officers at Ezeiza International Airport in Argentina last week confiscated three Bibles containing $16,800 that were being shipped to the United States via DHL.
According to US Customs and Border Protection, it is legal to transport “currency or other monetary instruments” that do not exceed $10,000 “or its foreign equivalent” into the United States from another country. or from the United States to another country.
However, any amount over $10,000 must be reported via a paper form or online.
It is also illegal for a family residing in the same household to split any amount totaling more than $10,000.
Foreign travelers leaving the United States with more than $10,000 must sign a declaration form before leaving.
