Cash Seizure Of $2.5 Million Might Be Largest In Panhandle

BOVINA - The Sunday seizure of more than $2.5 million in cash outside
Bovina is thought to be the largest in the history of the Panhandle and
could turn into a windfall for the state and Parmer County.

Department of Public Safety spokesman Wayne Beighle said after a 30-day
waiting period, the cash - which was found in eight cardboard boxes in the
back of a tractor-trailer stopped outside Bovina - will be forfeited and
divided between the state and Parmer County in a 70 percent to 30 percent
split.

The 30-day waiting period allows anybody who can prove the money belongs to
them to claim it, although Beighle said that is unlikely considering the
suspected origin of the money.

"It was pretty obvious what that money was for," Beighle said. "We think
that was the proceeds of drug dealing in the Chicago area that was being
brought to El Paso. My guess is the people who made that money aren't too
likely to come down here to claim it and explain how they got it."

The discovery of the money was made after a DPS trooper pulled over a
tractor-trailer on U.S. Highway 60 near Bovina about 7 p.m. Sunday because
the driver was not wearing a seat belt, Beighle said. The driver of the rig
gave consent to search, and troopers found the money in boxes packed among
a load of general goods.

Most of the $2,658,721 was in denominations of $20 bills, but there were
many $50, $100 and even some $1 dollar bills, Beighle said.

"I talked to one of the narcotics lieutenants who helped count the money,
and he said they were just ecstatic when they realized what they had,"
Beighle said. "They put a serious dent in somebody's operation with that
seizure. The way we look at it, we just kept them from buying another $2
million worth of drugs and bringing them back into this country to sell to
our children."

The seizure was the largest that Beighle remembered in the Panhandle, but
did not top the state record.

Beighle said the driver and a passenger in the tractor-trailer denied
knowledge of the money and were later released with only a citation issued
to the driver for the traffic offense.

Beighle said he doesn't know whether the driver was telling the truth, but
he often wonders what happens to people who lose large amounts of drugs or
money.

"That's something we talk about, is wondering what happens to those people
after we cut them loose," Beighle said. "I'd really like to be a fly on the
wall for that conversation, because I'd imagine those people are in a lot
of trouble."

Sunday's discovery was the fourth time troopers have seized large amounts
of drugs or cash from tractor-trailers on the state's highway in the past
few months, Beighle said. The string of stops illustrates a new trend in
trafficking that is bringing drugs to Texas highways in larger than normal
loads, Beighle said.

The stream of narcotics used to come in small, personal vehicles, but
eventually dealers decided to move onto larger loads, Beighle said. The
move puts more of the dealers' eggs into one basket and makes for larger
busts but allows narcotics traffickers to better hide the drugs among legal
loads and in hidden compartments.

"We've been getting information from other agencies like the DEA and Border
Patrol that this is on the increase," Beighle said. "Drug runners and
dealers are like water; they're going to take the path of least resistance.
We've been busting them pretty good in cars and motor homes, so they are
starting to use commercial trucks now. They think they can hide their loads
better in a trailer than in a car."

The change in smuggling methods has become so prominent that the DPS sent
all of its troopers through a training school on dealing with commercial
transport about two months ago.

Beighle said Sunday's stop was typical of what the troopers trained on at
the school and what they have been seeing in the past few months.
Generally, the drugs come across the border and are often staged in border
cities such as El Paso, which is where the truck stopped Sunday was headed.
Smugglers run the drugs north to large cities, then the small dealers in
those cities load the cash into trucks headed back south.

The returned money is used to purchase or manufacture more narcotics,
Beighle said.

Troopers interdict the shipments by pulling over vehicles on traffic
violations then using their training and instincts to determine when
further investigation is warranted. Beighle said he didn't want to reveal
specifics on what the troopers are looking for, but there are literally
dozens of small signs.

"We always go what we call beyond the initial violation," Beighle said.
"The old days of being a speed cop, going out there and writing them for
six or seven over (the speed limit) and letting them go are over. We want
them to be aware and look for things other than just the speeding ticket."

Beighle was careful to point out that the signs troopers look for do not
include profiling based on race or age, which has been a hot topic in other
parts of the country. Beighle said troopers know that those characteristics
are not good predictors of who will be hauling drugs, pointing to the
seemingly unlikely example of a 58-year-old woman who was arrested recently
for narcotics violations.

If the trooper's suspicion is aroused, the driver is asked for consent to
search the vehicle. Beighle said a surprising number of drivers give
consent, either out of nervousness or because they think the load is hidden
well enough to pass inspection.

If consent is not given, the trooper can look for probable cause or call
for a drug dog to sniff the vehicle.

Beighle said the system is not foolproof, but its effectiveness is
illustrated by the recent large seizures.

"We're hoping to send a message to these people that if you bring your
drugs or drug money through Texas, we're going to find it and we're going
to take it," Beighle said. "We're hoping to drive these people out of our
state and make them take their business elsewhere."