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explanation about the tickets and his suspicions regarding
petitioner increased. Petitioner's explanation about the
tickets was untrue and was the first of numerous lies that
petitioner told Reese and other law enforcement officers
that day. Reese did not give the tickets back to
petitioner.
Reese next inquired about the purpose of petitioner's
trip. Petitioner replied that he and Goncalo were traveling
to Los Angeles to purchase automobiles. Because this
explanation is commonly used by currency violators and
narcotics dealers who carry large amounts of money, Reese
began to suspect that petitioner and Goncalo were narcotics
or currency smugglers.
Reese asked petitioner how he intended to pay for the
automobiles. Petitioner told Reese that he was carrying
approximately $600 in cash. Reese discovered that
petitioner and Goncalo were carrying $138,921 of currency in
their bags.
After Reese discovered the currency, he, petitioner,
and Goncalo went to the Border Patrol station in a Border
Patrol vehicle (patrol car). By the time they arrived at
the Border Patrol station, Reese suspected that the currency
that petitioner had been carrying could be proceeds from
criminal activity. At the station, Reese had petitioner and
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