STASH OF $1 MILLION SEIZED AT THE BORDER

LAREDO -- U.S. Customs Service inspectors seized almost $1 million in cash
as part of Operation Robin Hood when they searched a van headed from Roma
to Mexico, officials said Thursday.

The money was stashed in a side panel covering the air conditioning and a
false compartment in the gas tank, according to Customs.

The discovery Wednesday was said to be the largest seizure at the
international bridge in downtown Roma and brought to almost $40 million the
amount seized all along the U.S.-Mexico border since February.

Operation Robin Hood is a Roma-based initiative that concentrates on
searching for cash and narcotics being sneaked across the Rio Grande,
Customs supervisor L. Garcia said by phone.

The driver of the vehicle, Gerardo Moreno, 35, a Mexican living in Houston,
was arrested and taken before a federal magistrate in McAllen.

Inspectors grew suspicious of Moreno, who regularly drives a commuter van
from Houston to McAllen, but Wednesday he had no commuters, Garcia said.

He reportedly was caught earlier this summer with slightly more than $10,000.

"He knows the laws and procedures," Garcia said.

It is illegal to cross the border with $10,000 or more without declaring it
to Customs.

The Supreme Court ruled in June that the government may not keep all the
money seized from people who are trying to take it out of the country
illegally, but Customs officials are still reviewing the decision before
changing procedures on the border.

"Customs is continuing to do business as usual," agency spokesman Bill
Anthony said from Washington.

A sharply divided Supreme Court struck at the heart of Customs operations
when it ruled that people forfeiting all their money amounted to an
excessive fine and was, therefore, unconstitutional.

Checked-by: Pat Dolan