Traffic stop leads to hidden $215,000, arrests

Diana Martinez - Nov. 5, 2010 01:25 PM
The Arizona Republic

A highway stop of a speeding driver led to the discovery of more than $200,000 and the arrests of two New York men on suspicion of money laundering, Yavapai County officials said Friday.

Authorities said the men were in a van speeding down U.S. 93 near Wickenburg Wednesday when a Yavapai County Sheriff's deputy pulled them over.

The deputy got a written consent from both men to search the van and found several $100 bills hidden behind an inside liner of a suitcase, the Sheriff's Office said.

A further search yielded two more suitcases stuffed with cash inside hidden liners and pockets. Authorities said more than $215,000 was recovered - money they said is linked to a drug transaction. Investigators are trying to determine the source of the cash.

The two men, Stephen Brown, 29, and Gregory Tracey, 40, denied knowledge about the cash; and Brown told the deputy that the van belonged to a friend in Phoenix, authorities said. They were arrested on suspicion of money laundering and are each being held on a $90,000 bond at the Camp Verde Detention Center.

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