JIM WELLS COUNTY (Kiii News) -
Over half a million in cash was confiscated by Jim Wells County deputies on Thursday, their largest money seizure in 14 years.
Captain Ray Escamilla, Jr., found $672,000 in cash in a 2004 Honda after stopping the car on Highway 281 for a traffic violation.
The driver and his passenger said they were coming from Chicago and headed to the Valley, but when their stories conflicted and didn't add up, the captain began to search the vehicle and found the goods.
"You really have to take the whole cover off," Escamilla said. "This one's covering the gas tank. When you take this cover, you see the part of the housing of the gas tank, and it had a steal plate, pretty thick with screws, covering the tank; and then you could see the inside of the steel mechanism inside."
So what happens to all that money? Jim Wells County Sheriff Oscar Lopez said the cash is forfeiture money and, if the courts award it back to the Sheriff's Office, it will be used to buy equipment for the department.
