A Jamaican man was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release last week after pleading guilty to falsely claiming US citizenship and illegally re-entering the US.

He has been identified as Andre Mark Walters. Walters was arrested by the Yuma Sector Border Patrol in Arizona yesterday.

He was held after a Border Patrol canine team became suspicious of a vehicle driven by Walters at a checkpoint on Interstate 10.

A secondary inspection and discovered $77,745 in cash hidden inside a speaker box in the vehicle’s trunk. Walters, a citizen of Jamaica, also presented an Illinois driver’s license not belonging to him and falsely identified himself as a US citizen.

Agents uncovered Walters’ true identity and prior convictions for drug possession, delivery and possession of drug paraphernalia, and conspiracy to distribute drugs, after conducting a background check using the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS).

IAFIS allows agents to accesses criminal records throughout the United States, enabling them to quickly identify criminals and wanted persons.

In 2004, Walters was convicted and sentenced to 27 months imprisonment; five years of supervised release; and was deported from the US.

When confronted with the evidence, Walters admitted illegally re-entering the US by boat near Miami in 2008.