Feds seize $14,000 in ‘undeclared cash’ from two Somali-born U.S. citizens departing on international flights from Minnesota
Federal officials on Monday announced the seizure of more than $14,000 in “undeclared cash” from a pair of Somali-born American citizens heading out of Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport on international flights Sunday.
“On January 18, HSI St. Paul and @CBP seized $14,135 from two Somali-born U.S. citizens who were departing on international flights from MSP,” Immigration and Customs Enforcement said on X, attaching a photo of the money spread out on a table.
“ICE and CBP remain vigilant in detecting and preventing the illegal movement of funds across borders to protect national security.”
UNDECLARED CASH SEIZED AT MSP
On January 18, HSI St. Paul and @CBP seized $14,135 from two Somali-born U.S. citizens who were departing on international flights from MSP.
ICE and CBP remain vigilant in detecting and preventing the illegal movement of funds across borders to… pic.twitter.com/16UXBu3ndF
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) January 19, 2026
No other details were provided.
The seizure comes in the wake of a WorldNetDaily report on Dec. 31 in which some federal TSA agents revealed details of how Somali men have been flying potentially billions of dollars out of the U.S. inside their carry-on luggage in recent years, with no one stopping them.
On Jan. 6, John Solomon of Just the News reported: “The Transportation Security Administration flagged nearly $700 million in cash detected in passengers’ luggage leaving the Minneapolis airport the last two years, a massive cash exodus believed to be tied to Somali immigrants and their money couriers, Homeland Security officials told Just the News.
“The officials said the cash movements out of Minnesota’s largest airport began about a decade ago – around the time Democrat Gov. Tim Walz took office – and has grown substantially in recent years.
“Though all were legally declared according to U.S. Customs rules, the bundles of cash in luggage – some as much as $1 million in a single trip – raised regular suspicions among TSA agents.
“The mountain of dollars leaving the country is now being investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations unit as part of a broader probe into a multibillion dollar fraud scheme centered around the state’s Somali immigrant community, where dozens have been charged with or convicted of federal crimes.”
Liz Jaksa, a former TSA agent who worked at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport from 2016 to 2021, recently spoke to Liz Collin of Alpha News, as Collin noted the practice “sounds like something out of a spy movie – people going through security and getting on planes with suitcases filled with millions of dollars in cash.”
Jaksa replied: “I’ve seen a lot of things but the most shocking is exactly that. I saw suitcases filled with millions of dollars cash, and the couriers were always Somali men traveling in pairs. And they got through the [security] checkpoint. It just really absolutely blew my mind the first time you open a suitcase and see millions of dollars of cash.”
WHAT
Former TSA agent says she saw Somali men flying out of Minnesota with suitcases filled with cash.
$1 billion over 5 years
They also once had a suitcase filled with brand new passports.
They were always waived through.
There’s a trail @SecDuffy pic.twitter.com/s8WegS5KIb
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) December 31, 2025
“Typically what would happen,” Jaksa explained, “is a law-enforcement officer would come, check their credentials … but their IDs were always documented and probably their plane tickets as well.
“So there is a trail of that out there, and I would believe with all the cameras at the airport, that if they started there, they could probably find each and every individual that brought money through the checkpoint.”
Follow Joe on X @JoeKovacsNews