3 Arrested In Largest Money Seizure In Recent History

Three have been arrested after police found nearly $7.2 million stuffed inside luggage at an airport in Panama.

Police suspect that the cash, which was mostly in $100 bills, was being moved for a powerful cartel.

The cash had been concealed in hidden compartments in eight separate suitcases that were stowed on a flight to Honduras from Toncontin airport in Tegucigalpa.

Honduran police have said that authorities have suspended dozens of officers during the course of the investigation. 

The money was found during a luggage check in the presence of the owners, when inspectors found a second compartment in the inner part of the bag hidden by a fake bottom, that concealed bundles of money in $100 bills. 

 

Panamanian police described the suitcase stash bust as their biggest in years, with the amount seized being the largest ever. 

The arrest of the three men, aged 41, 39 and 32, and following seizure of cash has been said to highlight the regional impacts of the international drug trade in Panama.

Chief drug prosecutor Javier Caraballo caught the smugglers using gathered intelligence that said the drug money would enter Panama through Tocumen Airport.

Panama is known as a money-laundering hub for drug cartels in Latin America. 

Recent changes in international banking laws in Panama have also made the country a serious location for foreign nationals attempting to hide their money for tax purposes, making it a target for money laundering and cash smuggling.