Originally Posted by
HSVTSO Dean
I can confirm that. It's happened twice at Huntsville, one of them where I personally found it (dude had, like, $14,000 in just, like, wads of $100s in his pockets) during a pat-down. I reported it to the Supervisor, Supervisor called Customs. Customs got there, asked him a few questions, and let him go after determining that he wasn't traveling overseas (which was, for some reason, something we were very specifically not allowed to inquire about ourselves; probably has something to do with legal liability and law enforcement procedures). The whole shebang took about ten minutes, IIRC, with nine of it being Customs' travel time.
Again, carrying 10K+ in cash domestically isn't illegal. I wouldn't call it wise necessarily, but there's nothing illegal about it.
Our training coordinator here at Huntsville put it very eloquently, I think, when it comes to the cash thing and reporting any drugs/drug paraphernalia found during the searches: "If you're driving down the road and you happen to see a car under a bridge, you stop and see if they need help. You're not driving down the road looking for cars under bridges, though."
Where is the duty/authority to call anyone? There is nothing illegal about carrying any amount of cash domestically. There isn't even anything illegal about carrying it internationally, as long as you declare it if over the limit.
What is it exactly that you are reporting to the supervisor, and what is the basis for it?
There is no reason to detain a traveller on the basis of his legal carrying of cash, no different than him carrying a camera, a hat, his shoes, jacket or anything else.
Am I missing something?