Antonio Rakigjija Had $128,547 Stuffed In His Sock As He Crossed The US-Mexico Border, Feds Say (UPDATE)

Man Busted At Border With $128,547 In Sock, Feds Say

UPDATE: The pending criminal charges against Antonio Rakigjija were dismissed without prejudice on Sept. 24, 2013.

Dirty money!

Federal authorities say that a California man stopped by customs on his way back to the United States from Mexico had a grand total of $128,547 stuffed in his sock, The Smoking Gun reports.

Antonio Rakigjija, 51, and his son, Franco, were approaching the San Ysidro border crossing on June 5 when a U.S. Customs agent conducting "roving pre-primary operations" with a drug sniffing dog discovered a small jar of marijuana in the backseat of the car, according to a probable cause statement.

The two men, who initially denied having anything to declare, told the agent that they were in Mexico for a "couple of hours" on business regarding Rakigjija's agriculture company.

As border agents patted down the two men, Rakigjija revealed that he "had money in his socks" -- a severe understatement considering the exorbitant amount of concealed cash. He said the money was "for business expenses related to his bean export company,” according to the statement. It is unclear in what denomination the bills were.

Rakigjija insisted that he intended to declare the sock money, but the drug bust “distracted” him. Or as Gawker puts it, "Naturally, he wants the cash back."

Rakigjija was charged on Tuesday with bulk cash smuggling.

Read more at The Smoking Gun.

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Thomas Edwin March

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