$1.1M CONFISCATED IN TRAFFIC STOP

Cash Hidden In Porsche Boxster, Authorities Say

State police confiscated $1.1 million found in a hidden compartment of a
sports car stopped Thursday in Rankin County because it didn't have a
license plate, authorities said.

The money was discovered in a two-seat, black Porsche Boxster after Trooper
Brad Vincent pulled over the driver, who was travelling with his wife.

Jorge Jazier Magallanes, 21, and Jacqueline Hernandez Madero, 24, both of
Chihuahua, Mexico, were taken to the Rankin County Sheriff's Department,
where they were being questioned Thursday night, patrol officials said.

Magallanes faces two misdemeanor charges: driving without a license and
driving without a tag, said Jan Schaefer, a spokeswoman for the state
Department of Public Safety.

Troopers planned to release Madero after questioning her, Schaefer said.
The patrol is holding the money pending the outcome of an investigation,
officials said.

Vincent made the traffic stop at 12:57 p.m. at mile-marker 66 on I-20 West.

Vincent said Magallanes indicated he could not speak English, so he took
the couple to the Rankin County Sheriff's Department, where an interpreter
helped question them.

Vincent said he became suspicious because they seemed nervous and gave
conflicting stories about a trip to Atlanta.

"She stated they stayed one night," Vincent said. "He stated they stayed
two nights."

The trooper became even more suspicious after a drug dog indicated there
might be drugs in the car.

Because of how unique the car is, it was taken to a Porsche dealer, where
workers assisted in searching the car, Vincent said.

The Boxster's engine is on the side of the car, near the back. It also has
two trunks, one in the front and another in the back.

A false compartment was found in the bottom of the front trunk. Inside the
compartment, police said, they found three rolls of paper towels stacked on
a bundle of cash wrapped in plastic.

No drugs were found in the car.

Warren Strain, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety, said
Vincent seems to have a knack for finding suspected drug money.

Vincent confiscated $200,000 last year and found $82,000 earlier this year,
Strain said.

Col. L. M. Claiborne, chief of the highway patrol, praised Vincent Thursday
for a job well done.

"People without the extensive amount of training he has would have written
these people a ticket and let them go on down the road," Claiborne said.