Agents seize $269,000 at checkpoint near Las Cruces

By Daniel Borunda / El Paso Times
Posted: 05/10/2013 06:51:16 PM MDT

U.S. Border Patrol agents seized $269,000 found in a truck this week at the Interstate 10 checkpoint near Las Cruces. (Courtesy U.S. Border Patrol)
U.S. Border Patrol agents seized $269,000 found in a truck's hidden compartment this week at the Interstate 10 West checkpoint near Las Cruces, officials said Friday.
The cash was found Tuesday when agents inspected a semi-truck that was hauling vehicles, officials said. The cash was in 17 vacuum sealed packages in a hidden compartment.

The men in the truck, Rolando Hermida Aguila, 39, and Jose Bernabe Miguel, 56, both Cuban citizens, denied any knowledge or ownership of the money, officials said. The money and vehicles were seized.

In a separate case, Border Patrol agents found 429 pounds of marijuana on April 28 in a tractor trailer at the N.M. Highway 26 checkpoint, officials said Friday. Agents also found a backpack with nearly $5,000. Truck driver Richard Weeks Fitzgerald, 46, was turned over to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Daniel Borunda may be reached 546-6102 or dborunda@elpasotimes.com

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