Millions of dollars in undeclared cash is seized each year from passengers at Vancouver’s airport, in far greater amounts than at Pearson International in Toronto, Canada’s busiest airport.

Most of that money is arriving from China.

Canada Border Services Agency has the authority to search for and seize cash, traveller’s cheques, drafts and bank notes in amounts over $10,000, which must be declared when travelling into or out of Canada, and federal customs agents at Vancouver International Airport use scanners, X-rays, physical searches and trained dogs to sniff it out.

From April 2011 to June 2012, over $15 million of unreported funds was intercepted at the airport, Canada’s second busiest. Almost two-thirds, or $9.7 million, arrived from China, according to documents obtained by The Vancouver Sun under an Access to Information request.

There were 887 seizures at the Vancouver airport during those 14 months. Of those, 592 were from passengers flying out of China.

Money landing in the Pacific Region far outstrips that landing in Eastern Canada despite less traffic overall. Last year just over 17.5 million passengers went through YVR, where seizures of Chinese money outweigh Canadian money more than five to one.

At Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, where 32 million people flew in and out last year, about $6.6 million in total was discovered by customs agents over the 14-month period. Nearly $1.4 million was from China whereas almost twice that amount — $2.6 million — was from departing Canadian passengers.

In the single-largest seizure over that period, $177,495.50 was discovered on a Chinese passenger who landed at Vancouver International Airport last June. A $2,500 fine was levied against the passenger and the money was released, which is the most common scenario, according to the documents. A penalty between $250 and $2,500 is typically issued for failure to report and the money seized is returned to the passenger.

“In my experience, I’ve seen a lot. It’s thousands and thousands of dollars in cash,” said Danielle Getzie, a border services officer who has worked at Vancouver’s airport since 2007, and has seen firsthand the creative methods used to smuggle cash in luggage and under clothing. Deliberately concealing money, such as hiding it in a suitcase lining, can result in the higher fine.

“If it’s in the form of cash, even if you’re using large notes, that’s quite a bit of paper,” she said. “There’s also stocks, bonds, bank drafts — all that kind of thing.”

Despite the high incidence of cash smuggling by passengers arriving from China, border agents do not target any one nationality, Getzie said.

Experts say stuffing wads of cash into carry-on luggage is just one way China’s elite are smuggling their wealth out of the country, where foreign exchange rules prohibit the transfer of more than $50,000 per year.

But an increasing amount of capital is leaking out. According to Washington-based anti-money laundering organization Global Financial Integrity, $602.9 billion fled China in 2011, up from $172.6 billion in 2000, the majority of which the group attributes to tax evasion.