Over 3.1 million in US Currency seized from commercial vehicle by DPS Officer

On Friday, November 13, 2009, at about 8:42 a.m. a DPS officer stopped a commercial vehicle for an equipment violation while traveling southbound on Interstate 17 at milepost 233, in New River, Ariz. The officer observed indicators of criminal activity received consent to a canine search of the truck and trailer. A Tempe Police Department canine officer responded to assist and the narcotics trained canine alerted to the load. A subsequent search of the refrigerated trailer which was hauling paper products revealed four unmarked boxes not matching the rest of the load. The boxes were packed with bundles of cash which had been vacuum sealed.

A total of 61 bundles of US Currency had been packed into the four boxes with each bundle containing about $50,000 in U.S. Currency. A preliminary estimation on total cash amount is over $3.1 million in U.S. Currency. The truck driver and co-driver were interviewed and released pending further investigation.

"The Arizona Department of Public Safety's Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Bureau's drug interdiction unit continues to be on the cutting edge in the ongoing effort to deprive drug cartels of their cash and product as they attempt to transport it through the state," said Roger Vanderpool, Director of the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

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