A Nigerian couple has lost $15,860 to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) after failing to report currency in their possession at Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI).
CBP announced in a statement on Tuesday that the couple arrived last Friday from London and reported to CBP officers that they possessed $15,000.
An additional $5,850 was found in the woman’s purse.
The officers seized the total $20,850 and released $4,990 to the couple as humanitarian relief without pressing charges.
The names of the couple were not given in the statement.
US federal law requires travellers who possess $10,000 or more in currency or other monetary instruments to report it all to a CBP officer at the airport, seaport, or land border crossing when entering or leaving the country.
