St. Catherines Man Charged With Bulk Cash Smuggling For Attempting To Cross The Border With More Than $200,000

CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051

BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Mhamood Fadl Salih Khairi, 28, of St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with bulk cash smuggling. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Misha A. Coulson, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, on July 15, 2020, the defendant attempted to enter Canada at the Lewiston Bridge Port of Entry while driving a commercial tractor trailer bearing Ontario license plates. Khairi told a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer that he was returning to Mississauga, Ontario, Canada from the Boston, Massachusetts area with a load of copper wire. When asked how much money he was traveling with, the defendant responded “$300.00 total U.S. and Canadian.” Khairi also indicated on a CBP Customs Declaration form that he was not carrying over $10,000.

Subsequently, a CBP K-9 narcotics dog ran the commercial tractor trailer in its entirety for the presence of illegal narcotics. The K-9 alerted to the presence of narcotics near the rear of the cab of the tractor trailer, at which time the defendant was sent to secondary inspection. During a manual inspection of the vehicle's cab as well as the trailer, CBP officers located a large white and green gift bag. Inside were 10 vacuum sealed bundles of cash, totaling $207,500 in United States currency.

The defendant made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer and is being detained.

The complaint is the result of an investigation by Customs and Border Protection, under the direction of Director of Field Operations Rose Brophy, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Kevin Kelly.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.  

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