Officials at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City arrested a woman they said hid $300,000 in fake currency in her bag.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the airport said they stopped Karol Andrea Chilito Solarte after she arrived on a flight from Medellin, Colombia.
During a search of her bags, officers said they noticed an unusual thickness at the bottom of her suitcase. After investigating further, 46 packages of counterfeit United States $100 bills were discovered at the bottom of her bags.
The fake bills totaled just under $300,000.
“CBP Officers protect the homeland in many ways.” Robert E. Perez said, Director of CBP’s New York Field Operations. “Our officers are always on the lookout for items that can harm our communities; in this case it was counterfeit currency.”
Officers arrested Chilito Solarte, 29, of Columbia, who was turned over to the United States Secret Service and will be prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York.