CUSTOMS SEIZURES

WASHINGTON - Federal authorities seized millions of dollars last year
that people were trying to take out of the United States and millions
of pounds of illegal drugs smugglers were trying to bring in, the
nation's border chief said Wensday.

Robert Bonner, chief of the Bureau of Customs and Border protection,
said his agency seized $51.7 million in currency in the 2003 fiscal
year that ended Sept. 30.

"A lot of this was outbound - that people were trying to take out of
the United States," Bonner said, in an interview with the Associated
Press. " I would say a significant percentage of the currency seizure
was proceeds of illegal activity, mainly drug trafficking."

Bonner said that some of the currency was headed for the Middle East,
but he didn't know whether that cash was going to be used to bankroll
terrorist activities.