A 3-year-old chocolate lab named Nitro busted the traveler at the Philadelphia International Airport
NEED TO KNOW
- A man attempted to smuggle $44,690 in undeclared cash onto a flight from Philadelphia to Cancun, Mexico
- A currency detector dog named Nitro alerted officers to the concealed money in the man’s pockets and carry-on bag
- Travelers must declare amounts over $10,000 or face consequences, such as cash seizure or potential criminal prosecution
A police dog sniffed out over $44,000 of undeclared cash after a man tried to smuggle money onto an international flight.
On April 30, a 54-year-old man attempted to bring $44,000 in undeclared cash onto a flight from Philadelphia International Airport to Cancun, Mexico, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a press release issued on Thursday, May 7.
According to the government agency, the man, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Peru, told them he was carrying $10,000 — the maximum amount of cash a traveler can carry without reporting it to authorities — after Nitro, a 3-year-old chocolate Labrador retriever trained to detect bulk currency, firearms, and ammunition, alerted CBP officers conducting outbound enforcement.
When CBP officers inspected the man, they discovered money in his pockets, in separate envelopes and inside his carry-on bag. The combined amount totaled $44,690. Officers then seized the money due to violating federal currency reporting laws.
“This traveler concealed currency in multiple locations for the purpose of evading federal currency reporting laws, but no amount of concealment can hide bulk currency from Customs and Border Protection officers and especially from CBP canine Nitro,” Acting Area Port Director Elliott Ortiz said in a statement.
Credit: PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP via Getty
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Ortiz added, “We are quickly approaching the busy summer travel season, and CBP urges travelers to truthfully report all currency they possess to a CBP officer during inspection or face severe consequences as this traveler learned.”
Per the press release, CBP officers returned $240 to the traveler before releasing him for what they called "humanitarian purposes."
CBP officers and agents seized an average of $180,000 in unreported or illicit currency every day in 2025, according to the agency.
Travelers planning to carry amounts over $10,000 must report them to the U.S. Treasury on a U.S. Treasury Department Report of International Transportation of Currency or Monetary Instruments form. Travelers can ask CBP officers at their departure gate for help completing the FinCEN 105 form.
Violators of this requirement face potential criminal prosecution for bulk currency smuggling.
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