Officers want drug profits targeted
Officials say U.S. not doing good job of seizing cash headed south
By JAMES PINKERTON
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Feb. 14, 2010, 11:04PM

When federal agents kicked in the door of a upscale home near Seven Lakes High School in Katy in June 2008, they found cocaine, handguns and an unexpected bonanza; $1,379,510 in cash bundled up and waiting for a short trip back to the Mexican border.

More startling were the ledgers agents found indicating the Gulf Cartel already had used the Katy operation to move $200 million in drug proceeds south of the border.

More and more, Mexican and Colombian drug cartels are turning to a low-tech, but effective, tactic to collect drug profits. They simply box up the cash, stash it in a truck or car and drive it across one of the many border crossings.

Current and former law enforcement officials say the federal government should devote more agents and equipment to search for billions of dollars hidden in vehicles headed south, as well as infiltrating the bulk smuggling operations.

“It goes back to resources,“ said Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety. “They don't have enough inspectors to inspect all the loads they need to inspect going northbound. The priority's been northbound, and, obviously, it makes it more difficult to impede the movement of bulk cash into Mexico.â€