Over $200,000 in U.S. Currency seized by DPS officer during traffic stop near Tucson

On Sept. 28, 2009, at 3:35 p.m., an officer with the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) stopped a late model Nissan Altima sedan for a moving violation while traveling eastbound on Interstate 10 just west of Tucson. The officer observed indicators of criminal activity and obtained consent to search the vehicle. Following the consent search, the officer located 39 bundles of cash inside of a box located in the trunk of the vehicle. Additionally, a DPS narcotics canine alerted to the presence of narcotics on the cash. The driver and passenger both had a bundle of cash on them as well, which totaled $6,000. The total amount seized during the traffic stop was $200,490. Both the driver and passenger were questioned and released pending further investigation.

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