Kelowna man accused of smuggling U.S. cash

A 66-year-old man from Kelowna, B.C., was arrested after allegedly trying to smuggle more than $500,000 cash into the United States.

Richard Neumeyer was taken into custody on Friday at the Laurier border crossing. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers say they found two secret compartments in the floor of his 2006 Volvo XC90 that contained a total of $510,000 USD and $10,000 CAD in bundled cash.

Neumeyer was turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

"While it is not a crime to transport monies across the border, it is a federal offense to conceal it with intent of evading the reporting requirements," CBA area port director Ron Arrigoni said in a statement.

U.S. federal law requires all monetary instruments worth more than $10,000 be declared when taken in or out of the United States.

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  U.S. border agents seized 16 bundles of cash worth more than $500,000 USD on Friday, May 21, 2010. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection)