Texas Highway Patrol Nets Large Cash Seizure in South Texas

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DPS

On Wednesday, Texas Highway Patrol Troopers stopped a Katy, Texas, man traveling south on Interstate 35 near Laredo. Suspecting something was amiss, the troopers escorted the beige SUV to a Border Patrol checkpoint for a more detailed search.

With the help of a Border Patrol K-9 team and an x-ray scanner, authorities discovered packages hidden within the vehicle’s floorboard in a specially constructed compartment. At total of 48 packages were discovered and removed for inspection.

In all, $389,620 USD were kept in the packages. Troopers seized the currency, vehicle, and arrested the driver–a U.S. citizen from the Houston metro.

More than 1,000 troopers and Texas Army National Guard are deployed to the border regions to address the current migrant crisis. Operation Lone Star launched in March.

Texas Department of Public Safety personnel and the Army National Guard troops working Operation Lone Star  have made more than 1,870 criminal arrests and another 45,800 migrant apprehensions or referrals. Additionally, there have been 433 vehicle pursuits, and DPS has seized more than 620 pounds of cocaine and meth, 151 firearms, and nearly $2 million cash.

This incident highlights the importance of the I-35 corridor to Mexican cartels who use the route to smuggle migrants and narcotics into the United States. The route also serves to quickly transport their proceeds south.

Randy Clark
 is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol.  Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on Twitter @RandyClarkBBTX.

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