Traffic violation leads to seizure of over $300K in US currency

LAREDO, Texas — The Texas Department of Public Safety seized $389,620 in cash after DPS troopers stopped a vehicle in La Salle County.

The agency’s news release said around 10 a.m. on Wednesday troopers stopped a white Buick SUV traveling south on Interstate Highway 35 near mile marker 64 for a traffic violation.

During the traffic stop, the trooper discovered plastic-wrapped bundles containing U.S. currency in a hidden compartment underneath the third-row passenger seat.

DPS identified the driver as 65-year-old Hugo Alfredo Mendoza Martinez, of Katy, Texas. He was arrested, charged with money laundering, and taken to the La Salle County Jail.

U.S. Border Patrol assisted Texas DPS in this incident. The vehicle was inspected at the IH-35 BP checkpoint in Webb County.