Authorities arrested and detained a 25-year-old passenger caught carrying undeclared money amounting to more than P1.14 million at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) on Monday.
The passenger was about to board a flight for Hong Kong when he was flagged by an Office for Transportation Security (OTS) officer. The latter saw a suspicious image resembling bundles of cash in the passenger’s baggage during a routine X-ray at the screening checkpoint in Terminal 2’s departure area.
The OTS personnel immediately alerted the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group (PNP-Avsegroup), resulting in the discovery of P1.149 million in undeclared cash.
The passenger failed to declare the currency and refused to sign the held baggage receipt, later stating he was unaware of the regulation limiting outbound transport of Philippine currency to P500,000.
The BOC turned over the intercepted cash for proper disposition, while the passenger was placed under detention for further investigation.
“This incident reflects the strong coordination and alertness of our security forces. Avsegroup remains committed to ensuring safe and secure airport operations at all times,” Avsegroup Director Brig. Gen. Jason Capoy said.
