What Happened to the Million Cash & the Suspect?

by Michael Webster Investigative Reporter

June 2, 2008 6:00 p.m. PST

U.S. Currency confiscated in traffic stop by El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.

Back in January of this year the El Paso Journal reported that an El Paso County sheriff's deputy pulled over a Freightliner Tractor Trailer on Friday Aug 18, 2008 at I-10 mile marker 45 in the eastern part of EL Paso county. While conducting a search of the trailer he discovered about $1 million in cash.

The sheriff's dept claims a deputy pulled the tractor-trailer over at about 2:48 p.m. After noticing the vehicle was "weaving in and out of traffic," sheriff's spokesman Rick Glancey said. The deputy requested backup after noticing that the driver of the tractor-trailer was acting suspicious. Another deputy with a police dog responded to the scene, and allegedly the dog alerted the deputies to cash inside the rig.

The report then states that while examining the tractor-trailer's cargo, deputies discovered several bundles of cash. Detectives from the El Paso County Sheriff’s office - Special Operations Division were summoned to the scene. Based on size and weight Detectives estimate a-million dollars in cash was confiscated.

An investigation into the discovery of the undeclared cash continues at this time it is believed. A source close to the investigation reports detectives are believed to be investigating where the large amount of cash came from. They are looking into the possibility that the money could be related to illegal drugs and/or terrorist activity.

To date no new information or even basic details have been released by the El Paso County Sheriff's Department. The El Paso Journal has requested additional info on the matter and there has been no response from the Sheriff's office. They will not give the media the suspect’s name, age or if he has been charged and if so what the charge or charges are. This clandestine profile the Sheriff has adopted and the lack of cooperation is highly unusual.

The Sheriff's office did admit by saying," this is a major case and an ongoing investigation is still underway by the Special Operations Division.  The identity is still being withheld and it is unknown at this time if any charges will be filed against the driver.  It is possible the suspect has secretly been charged and the information withheld from the public which if true that would be in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

An area law enforcement officer has told the El Paso Journal that the investigation is being handled the way that it is because bulk cash smuggling from the United States to Mexico has increased dramatically. According to the feds this is most likely the result of enhanced U.S. anti-money laundering (AML) regulations and law enforcement actions, which have made it more difficult for drug traffickers to launder drug proceeds through many U.S. financial institutions. And many of the Mexican drug cartels are suspected of moving the illegal drug money in varies vehicles including tractor trailers.

It is believed that bulk cash smuggling is now the primary technique used by Mexican Click on or Google: Drug Trafficking Organizations (DTOs) also known as Mexican Drug Cartels (MDC's). We'll use DTO's for this report.

Typically, bulk cash is transported by Mexican DTOs to consolidation points throughout the United States and transported over U.S. Highways to the Southwest Border.

According to the U.S. Border Patrol the consolidation points are often major metropolitan areas, or border cities like El Paso, or larger drug markets such as Dallas,  Atlanta, Charlotte (NC), Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Miami, San Diego, and New York. For example, law enforcement officials in Chicago estimate that between $10 million and $24 million in bulk cash drug proceeds are moved from that city each month, destined for Southwest Border locations. Additionally, law enforcement agencies have made several large bulk currency seizures from passengers traveling from U.S. drug markets dominated by Mexican DTOs to Southwest Border areas on Mexican bus lines. A number of Mexican bus lines operate daily service between Mexico, Southwest Border states, and many of the known bulk cash consolidation points used by Mexican traffickers.

New U.S. Government regulations and law enforcement actions, seems to have made it increasingly difficult for drug traffickers to place illicit proceeds directly into U.S. banks and other financial institutions. Therefore these actions are believed to have resulted in most Mexican Asian and Colombian DTOs avoiding such money laundering methods. Instead, Mexican  Asian and Colombian DTOs transport illicit drug proceeds (cash) from U.S. drug markets to other U.S. locations for consolidation. The proceeds often are transported in bulk to an area near the U.S.-Mexico border and are either smuggled into Mexico at Southwest Border ports of entry (POEs), primarily in South Texas, or remitted electronically to Southwest Border locations, where the transferred cash is then smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border.

Diversification is a vital component of drug money laundering operations in the United States. The majority of DTOs operating in the United States--including launderers working for Mexican, Asian and Colombian DTOs that are responsible for most wholesale-level drug trafficking--rely on multiple methods to move and launder illicit proceeds. Law enforcement investigations initiated since January 2006 indicate that most DTOs use two or more techniques to launder drug proceeds. Even in Southwest Border states, where bulk cash smuggling is the predominant method of moving drug proceeds, most organizations use a variety of drug money laundering techniques, including wire remittances through Money services businesses (MSBs)  which have become a critical component to the ability of DTOs to launder illicit drug proceeds. They also buy and sell businesses and use them as front companies, who export and import into the U.S. They also buy and sell real estate properties, Then structure deposits in traditional bank deposits. They try to structure their deposits in unusually small amounts as a money laundering technique. 

Emerging technology is equipping DTOs with novel money laundering idea’s and techniques. The cash is deposited into Mexican banks and other financial institutions with just a portions of the money electronically wire-transferred to the United States and other Latin American countries for placement into their financial systems. Other countries, such as Panama, Korea, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, is used to facilitate the Black Market Peso Exchange (BMPE) The cash is repatriated to the United States by Mexican financial institutions for reintroduction into the U.S. financial system. Then some of the remaining cash is smuggled in bulk farther south to Guatemala, Panama, Colombia, or other Latin American countries. Some of the cash is also used by the Mexico DTO’s (Mexican drug cartels) for operational expenses.

Money Services Businesses (MSBs) have become a critical component to the ability of DTOs to launder illicit drug proceeds. Many DTOs use U.S.-based MSBs--particularly money transmittal and check-cashing businesses to launder drug proceeds, frequently in conjunction with bulk cash smuggling. The diversity of services offered at many MSBs accommodates launderers' needs. Mexican DTOs often wire illicit proceeds in structured amounts through MSBs to collection points in Southwest Border states, where the wires are cashed, and most of the money is then smuggled across the border. In some cases, DTOs wire money directly to Mexico. Law enforcement reporting reveals that Mexico is the primary destination for suspicious funds sent through MSBs; however, law enforcement officials also report that significant amounts of money are also sent through MSBs to Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Russia, and various locations in Central America and South America. Money orders purchased at MSBs and U.S. Post Offices are also commonly used by drug traffickers to launder money. A review of OCDETF case initiations indicates that approximately 20 percent of its newly initiated money laundering investigations contain a money order component. Law enforcement officials, especially those from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and DEA and the regulatory community, have noted the continuous movement of money orders to Mexico and other Latin American countries in money laundering schemes. Additionally, open-system prepaid cards, also a product provided by MSBs, are used by drug money launderers. These cards can effectively be used to remit money across borders because card value can be added or withdrawn at automated teller machines (ATMs) worldwide.

Many DTOs exploit traditional depository institutions, sometimes innovatively. Traffickers exploit the services provided by traditional depository institutions to launder significant amounts of illicit drug proceeds, despite provisions in the USA PATRIOT Act  Click on or Google: The Patriot Act And You! that tightened AML programs for such institutions. According to Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) reporting, Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) filings for Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)/Structuring/Money Laundering continue to be high (302,818 filings in 2006) and remain the leading violation type by far of all suspicious activity reported by depository institutions. In addition to structuring, DTOs, primarily Colombian and Mexican, move illicit drug proceeds by depositing money in U.S. bank accounts and then quickly withdrawing the money from ATMs located in other states or countries; they also move these funds by wire transfer. Additionally, DTOs use correspondent, "payable through," and nested accounts to covertly access the U.S. financial system and move money within the United States and throughout the world.