Truck Driver with $800,000 in Cash Charged

Investigators are trying to determine if he carried the cash willingly or was forced

POSTED: 11:21 PM CDT Apr 02, 2015 UPDATED: 11:34 PM CDT Apr 02, 2015

SAN JUAN -San Juan police said they make their biggest cash seizure ever, and a Mexican truck driver is officially charged.

Investigators are trying to figure out if the driver was carrying the cash willingly or if cartels were forcing him to deliver the money back to Mexico.

Police said the man charged Thursday afternoon is a regular Mexican truck driver with no prior record in the states.

Rafael Martinez Torres, 36, went before a judge. He was charged with money laundering after police found $798,340 in cash hidden in his tractor trailer Wednesday morning at the 700 block of South I Road.

Authorities said the suspect still has not given them any information about why the large amount of money was in his big rig, but either way, they said the cash was likely drug money headed back to the cartels in Mexico.

Sgt. Rolando Garcia said, “Sometimes cartels from the other side will kidnap and hold families ransom until the truck drivers from the Mexican side do what they're asked to do to bring money back on a legitimate load. So you have two different options, either make money or be forced to do it.”

The suspect in this case was given a bond of a $250,000 and transported to the Hidalgo County jail.

The San Juan Police Department said it will now file asset forfeiture to try and get the estimated $800,000 awarded back to their department, so they can purchase more police vehicles and equipment.

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