Worth Getting Arrested ?
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Worth Getting Arrested ?
An American Commercial pilot has been arrested for trying to smuggle in currency worth 200000 USD at a US airport after arriving as a passenger on a flight from Mumbai. Anthony Warner,55 Of Dallas Texas was arrested at the Newark Liberty International Airport by Immigration and Custom's Enforcement's Homeland Security investigations.
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From news reports looks like he's a United pilot and was pass riding on UA 49 BOM-EWR. 
He probably planned to use the 'known traveler' Global Entry kiosk and it was offline. As always, this will mess things up for the rest of us (I mean those of us who are not smuggling but want to go through the short line).
From the New Jersey U.S. Attorney's Office:
Major U.S. Airline Pilot Who Holds Global Entry Card Charged With Bulk Cash Smuggling, Making False Statements | USAO-NJ | Department of Justice
He probably planned to use the 'known traveler' Global Entry kiosk and it was offline. As always, this will mess things up for the rest of us (I mean those of us who are not smuggling but want to go through the short line).
From the New Jersey U.S. Attorney's Office:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, January 11, 2016
Major U.S. Airline Pilot Who Holds Global Entry Card Charged With Bulk Cash Smuggling, Making False Statements
NEWARK, N.J. – A United States commercial airline pilot who holds a U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Global Entry Card was arrested yesterday morning after allegedly attempting to smuggle $195,736 in undeclared currency into the country, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Anthony Warner, 55, of Dallas, Texas, was arrested at Newark Liberty International Airport by special agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations after arriving as a passenger on a flight from Mumbai, India. He is charged by complaint with one count of bulk cash smuggling and one count of making false statements. He made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven C. Mannion and was released on $100,000 bond.
According documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Global Entry is a CBP program that allows expedited clearance upon arrival in the United States for pre-approved travelers who have been determined to be low-risk. Pre-approval must be completed before enrollment, and the process includes a background check and an in-person interview. At airports, program members proceed to Global Entry kiosks, present their machine-readable passport or U.S. permanent resident card, place their fingers on the scanner for fingerprint verification, and complete a Customs verification. The kiosk issues the traveler a transaction receipt and directs the traveler to baggage claim and the exit.
When Warner arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport, the Global Entry computer system was not functioning, so he presented his customs declaration to a CBP officer. CBP’s screening determined that he was carrying a laptop-style bag that contained $195,736 in United States currency wrapped in newspaper. He also had 10 rings, four sets of earrings, and other assorted jewelry of undetermined value.
Warner’s possession of currency was contrary to the statements in his customs declaration and verbal statements
Count One of the complaint carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years and a fine of $250,000. Count two of the complaint, bulk cash smuggling, carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years and forfeiture of all property involved in the offense.
Monday, January 11, 2016
Major U.S. Airline Pilot Who Holds Global Entry Card Charged With Bulk Cash Smuggling, Making False Statements
NEWARK, N.J. – A United States commercial airline pilot who holds a U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Global Entry Card was arrested yesterday morning after allegedly attempting to smuggle $195,736 in undeclared currency into the country, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Anthony Warner, 55, of Dallas, Texas, was arrested at Newark Liberty International Airport by special agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations after arriving as a passenger on a flight from Mumbai, India. He is charged by complaint with one count of bulk cash smuggling and one count of making false statements. He made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven C. Mannion and was released on $100,000 bond.
According documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Global Entry is a CBP program that allows expedited clearance upon arrival in the United States for pre-approved travelers who have been determined to be low-risk. Pre-approval must be completed before enrollment, and the process includes a background check and an in-person interview. At airports, program members proceed to Global Entry kiosks, present their machine-readable passport or U.S. permanent resident card, place their fingers on the scanner for fingerprint verification, and complete a Customs verification. The kiosk issues the traveler a transaction receipt and directs the traveler to baggage claim and the exit.
When Warner arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport, the Global Entry computer system was not functioning, so he presented his customs declaration to a CBP officer. CBP’s screening determined that he was carrying a laptop-style bag that contained $195,736 in United States currency wrapped in newspaper. He also had 10 rings, four sets of earrings, and other assorted jewelry of undetermined value.
Warner’s possession of currency was contrary to the statements in his customs declaration and verbal statements
Count One of the complaint carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years and a fine of $250,000. Count two of the complaint, bulk cash smuggling, carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years and forfeiture of all property involved in the offense.
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Hmmm - proceeds of gold sale? Price in India is running about $65 per ounce higher than in USA.
Several Middle Eastern airlines had decent BOM and DEL night stops back in the day but most of these have been turned into all night death march turns due in part to the crews often getting caught with contraband by customs.
Another non-drug illicit cash flow I've run across in BOM is proceeds from organ transplants. Often the 'donors' are slum dwellers and the harvesting is very shady. Well-to-do foreigners pay large sums in dollars in cash to get a transplant without the wait back home. Desi doctors in the States get a significant cut of the proceeds for referrals from what an Indian colleague tells me.
As always, some of this smuggling has help from customs with a little baksheesh given to get the wave through the inspection.
Some recent allegations of an insider gold smuggling ring at BOM airport in this article:
Top Customs officials running a smuggling racket at Mumbai airport? - News
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It's not illegal to transport money. It's just illegal to not declare it. But I don't know the consequences of declaring that much money. I suppose one only needs a realistic story and maybe a tax plan.
Trash du Blanc
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No way this was a random search. They were waiting on him.
And I don't think Global Entry gets you out of walking past Customs. Does it? It just expedites Immigration.
And I don't think Global Entry gets you out of walking past Customs. Does it? It just expedites Immigration.
Hmmm - proceeds of gold sale? Price in India is running about $65 per ounce higher than in USA.
When I asked the BOAC engineer awaiting a BOAC VC-10 in transit he said: "Oh, that's the weekly gold shipment. The gold is smuggled out of BOM in dhows across the Indian ocean, to be unloaded at the port of Dubai where it gets melted down to ingots and sold to Indian buyers in BOM".
It was a nice piece of steady revenue for BOAC, just part of the circular supply chain!
Plus ca change, plus la meme chose!
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It's not illegal to transport money. It's just illegal to not declare it. But I don't know the consequences of declaring that much money.
Count two of the complaint, bulk cash smuggling, carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years and forfeiture of all property involved in the offense.
And I don't think Global Entry gets you out of walking past Customs. Does it?
At airports, program members proceed to Global Entry kiosks, present their machine-readable passport or U.S. permanent resident card, place their fingers on the scanner for fingerprint verification, and complete a Customs verification. The kiosk issues the traveler a transaction receipt and directs the traveler to baggage claim and the exit.
In the late '80's a bunch of F-16 drivers from the Homestead AFB guard unit got caught cheating on ATP writtens (I bought the answers fair and square in a book
). Most were airline pilots, some got time off, some got fired, at least until the union got their jobs back. One of these folks is now a fed, another is a double breasted check airman on the 767. It pays to polish those academy rings. 
The classic legal test of whether a criminal conviction would affect your ability to hold a professional license, i.e. pilot, medical or law license, is whether the offense was a crime of moral turpitude. Cheating on your taxes (or your ATP written exam) was not considered moral turpitude, killing your spouse and having kiddie porn on the other hand were in cases I've seen.
Don't know about bulk cash smuggling...
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I knew a guy who had his collar felt (literally) at Changi - made the mistake of running a dodgy operation through a Singapore bank account...............
led to severe career impairment
led to severe career impairment
When I joined a certain Far East carrier in 1989 we were cautioned about the perils of gold smuggling into Bombay (as it was then). Apparently previously a Purser was caught doing this, and subsequently "jumped" (the suggestion was that he was thrown) to his death from a fourth floor police station window.
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That explains my experience at LAX on Tuesday, I was specifically asked how much cash I had on me, said I didn't know about $200 and then without the officer saying anything was selected at the exit for Secondary and my bag was x-rayed.
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Seems to be a novice & was probably the proceeds of some kind of hawala operation. Cannot imagine some one ferrying that kind of cash nowadays especially out of India withoit being part of some kind of money laundering operation.
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Back in the eighties if an Indian Customs Officer wanted to work at either Bombay or Delhi they had to 'buy' their way in, the average 'take' in bribes was US$5000 a shift! Honest customs officers would be found on the docks looking in containers!
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DOn't think so, I still have to hit the customs station. I haven't been searched, but then I didn't before I got Global entry. I'm apparently not shady looking.
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I remember passing through Dubai in 1966 (yes, I'm that old, but I still remember) looking at a Trucial Oman scout (the local peace keepers in the days of British rule) armed with a .303 Enfield, who was sleeping in a chair while guarding a 6' X 6' wooden pallet loaded with three or four layers of gold ingots (20 Kgs. standard weight???).
When I asked the BOAC engineer awaiting a BOAC VC-10 in transit he said: "Oh, that's the weekly gold shipment. The gold is smuggled out of BOM in dhows across the Indian ocean, to be unloaded at the port of Dubai where it gets melted down to ingots and sold to Indian buyers in BOM".
It was a nice piece of steady revenue for BOAC, just part of the circular supply chain!
Plus ca change, plus la meme chose!
When I asked the BOAC engineer awaiting a BOAC VC-10 in transit he said: "Oh, that's the weekly gold shipment. The gold is smuggled out of BOM in dhows across the Indian ocean, to be unloaded at the port of Dubai where it gets melted down to ingots and sold to Indian buyers in BOM".
It was a nice piece of steady revenue for BOAC, just part of the circular supply chain!
Plus ca change, plus la meme chose!
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I think in the 60s they were mainly smuggling silver out of India, to be melted in Dubai and sold to the rest of the world -- while in the reverse direction they smuggled gold into India.
The situation now is caused by new import tariffs imposed on both gold and silver. So the profit is from avoiding tariff payments.
The situation now is caused by new import tariffs imposed on both gold and silver. So the profit is from avoiding tariff payments.
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"Back in the eighties if an Indian Customs Officer wanted to work at either Bombay or Delhi they had to 'buy' their way in, the average 'take' in bribes was US$5000 a shift! Honest customs officers would be found on the docks looking in containers!"
Wasn't there a baggage handlers fight when T5 LHR opened over who from T1 & T3 would get to "handle" the bags from places like Nice and & Bermuda??
Wasn't there a baggage handlers fight when T5 LHR opened over who from T1 & T3 would get to "handle" the bags from places like Nice and & Bermuda??
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Looking over the court papers for the conditions of Mr. Warner's release on $100,000 bond, he's grounded, can work but not as a pilot, can only travel to New Jersey and Texas.
He needs to install a landline phone for electronic monitoring.
He's got to turn in his passport, and far worse for a Texan, his guns.
He needs to install a landline phone for electronic monitoring.
He's got to turn in his passport, and far worse for a Texan, his guns.
