A traffic stop involving a vehicle speeding toward Mexico at over 100 miles per hour resulted in the confiscation of thousands of dollars in undeclared cash.
According to court records, a New Mexico State Police officer noticed a Chevrolet Trax with Chihuahua, Mexico, license plates driving many miles over the speed limit south on Interstate 25 in Las Cruces, New Mexico, on Friday.
The police came up in the fast vehicle and asked the driver to stop. When asked where he was heading, Sergio Castro, the sole occupant of the Chevrolet, reportedly gave conflicting answers.
Court records reveal that the officer asked Castro for permission to examine the vehicle and discovered two secret compartments placed into the SUV’s floorboards. More officers arrived on the scene, and vacuum-sealed bags containing $20,000 in cash were allegedly taken from the compartments.
The state police turned Castro over to Homeland Security Investigations. Castro allegedly informed HSI officers that he picked up the bulk cash in Santa Fe and would be paid $1,500 to transport it across the border to Mexico.
Federal prosecutors have charged Castro with bulk cash smuggling, a crime punishable by up to five years in jail. Castro made his first appearance in U.S. District Court in Las Cruces on Monday.
