BULK CASH SMUGGLER SENTENCED TO PROBATION

Have it your way.

A United States District Court Judge in Arizona has sentenced an individual who attempted to smuggle $50,000, in cash, hidden in a bag of burgers, into Mexico, to five years Probation, a decision that will certainly be criticized, in light of the fact that the maximum penalty for Bulk Cash Smuggling is five years in Federal Prison.

Smuggling narcotics profits back to Mexican or Colombian cartels fuels their illicit enterprise, driving still more narcotics north, in the United States, where the cycle continues. If Probation becomes the norm for first offenders involved in bulk cash smuggling, as one Federal Judge once remarked, people will be lined up to accept such criminal employment, for Probation is never sufficient to deter crime.

The purpose of sentencing is to make the public aware of the consequences of engaging in criminal activity, and to deter others from being tempted to break the law. If the punishment is only a non-custodial sentence, where is the deterrent ?

The Nogales, Arizona Port of Entry