http://www.cumberlink.com/articles/2007 ... ews694.txt

Two Mexican nationals were indicted in federal court Wednesday for conspiring to transport more than $417,000 in alleged drug trafficking proceeds through Cumberland County last month.

According to Thomas A. Marino, U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Julio Cesar Corona and Jose Humberto Barraza-Luna were charged with conspiracy to engage in money laundering by a federal grand jury. The indictment returned by the grand jury recommended the money and two vehicles be forfeited to the United States as a result of the alleged crimes.

The charges stem from a May 25 incident on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. During a traffic stop, state police say they discovered a large sum of cash hidden inside the car, which was being hauled on a truck operated by the defendants.

More than $417,000 recovered

Subsequent investigation by state police and agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, uncovered a total of $417,018 concealed in these vehicles and hidden in Barraza-Luna's shoes. Marino said the investigation identified the money as drug proceeds that Corona and Barraza-Luna intended to smuggle into Mexico hidden inside the vehicles.

The defendants face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, fines of up to $250,000 and forfeiture of the vehicles and cash seized by authorities. Marino said a plea agreement has been filed in the case of Barraza-Luna, indicating his intention to plead guilty to this international money laundering conspiracy charge.

Both defendants have been detained pending trial in this case.