EL PASO, Texas — Is it laundered money or not?
That’s the question border patrol agents were asking when they arrested an Aurora man trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border with $52,000 in undeclared cash hidden in a laundry detergent box.
According to the Associated Press, Edgar Lopez Chavez, 36, was being held in an El Paso County jail on a bulk cash smuggling charge Wednesday. Chavez is a native of Mexico who lives in Aurora.
Cash amounts of $10,000 or higher must be declared when traveling into or out of the U.S.
Authorities have not confirmed or denied Chavez’s involvement in criminal activity. But there have been several reports that some of Mexico’s drug cartels are attempting to set up shop in southern Colorado to take advantage of the state’s legalization of marijuana, which will be upcoming in the wake of Amendment 64’s passage.
