[Red Badger]

He is charged with concealing more than $10,000 in his luggage, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison,

Un-Consti-freakin'-tutional, IMHO........

[Lunatic Fringe]

Hey, don't you know that only criminals carry large amounts of cash! [/s]

[justshutupandtakeit]

Not in the slightest.

[Gaffer]

The crime is not carrying the money in the suitcase, the crime is in not declaring it and allowing the government to determine if the money has been properly taxed.

I swear, one of these days, they're gonna catch a muzzie at the airport with a million in cash "declared" and a computer filled with "acme-DIY A-bomb" plans, all with the proper export control documents, and they're gonna have to let the sucker go......

[posterchild]

The issue isn't carrying the currency, but concealing the currency from customs. When entering the US, Customs requires a declaration of currency in excess of $10K.

[BlackSeal]

Some of you have missed this part: "arrived in Detroit from Nigeria".

He was going through US customs. It is illegal to bring in more than US$10,000 and not declare it to a US customs official. I believe amounts over $10,000 are dutiable/taxable and that is why it must be delcared. That is what they got him on.

[Gideon Reader]

US law requires the declaration of more than $10K in cash or negotiables. You can have it, but you must declare it on an official Customs form. Nothing Unconstitutional about. It has been tested in the Federal courts many times for the last twenty five or thirty years and upheld.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

You are allowed to carry cash but you have to declare it. The guy was HIDING this cash.

[americanbychoice2]

You can bring any amount into the country. You just have to declare it and fill out forms to prove it is not money laundering. The $ 10 000 limit is only the amount that you can bring in wothout having to prove where it came from.
A misconception.