Seized cash likely drug-related

By Daniel Borunda / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 01/27/2008 12:00:00 AM MST

The recent discovery of nearly $1 million in cash hidden in an 18-wheeler could be part of a trail of bulk money shipments that pass through El Paso on their way to drug traffickers in Mexico, authorities said.

"It's a regular thing for drugs to come in, and there is no reason not to believe it (money) is not heading south," said Matthew Taylor, a spokesman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration office in El Paso.

On Jan. 18, an El Paso County sheriff's deputy stopped a tractor-trailer for weaving in and out of traffic on Interstate 10 and eventually led a drug-sniffing dog to wrapped bundles containing nearly $1 million in cash in the rig, sheriff's officials said.