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Crime, Law and Justice
MPR News Staff

$900K in counterfeit money seized at border in northern Minnesota

Counterfeit U.S. currency
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized $900,000 in counterfeit U.S. $1 bills from a rail shipment crossing the U.S.-Canadian border near International Falls, Minn., in December 2019.
Courtesy of U.S. Customs and Border Protection

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized $900,000 in counterfeit U.S. currency discovered last month in a commercial rail shipment crossing the U.S.-Canadian border near International Falls, Minn.

The agency announced Saturday that officers flagged a rail container for customs inspection on Dec. 14.

"During the examination, CBP discovered 45 cartons of possible counterfeit currency in the form of $1 bills with a total face value of $900,000," the agency said in a news release.

Counterfeit U.S. currency
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized $900,000 in counterfeit U.S. currency from a commercial rail shipment crossing the U.S.-Canadian border near International Falls, Minn., in December 2019.
Courtesy of U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Secret Service officials confirmed the money was counterfeit. The shipment originated from China.

“CBP officers strive every day to protect the United States from a variety of threats,” said Jason Schmelz, Pembina (N.D.) Area Port Director for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. “Those threats don’t always come in the form of terrorists or narcotics, but also in the form of counterfeit currency and other goods that have the potential to harm the economy of the United States.”