U.S., Mexico try to reduce drug-related money laundering

Mexican federal police officers display some of the $205 million in U.S. currency that they found in March 2007 at the home of a pseudoephedrine trafficker in Mexico City. / Photo by Associated Press

Written by
Sandra Dibble
8:21 p.m., Nov. 26, 2011

TIJUANA — A Mexican army operation in Tijuana led to the seizure of more than $15.3 million this month and briefly lifted the veil on an illicit and highly secretive activity: the shipment of large amounts of U.S. currency that keeps drug-trafficking groups in business.

Mexican and U.S. authorities have stepped up efforts in recent years to follow the trail of these dollars, which are the proceeds of drug sales in the United States.

Known as bulk cash, the money allows criminal organizations to buy weapons, bribe government officials, dig cross-border drug tunnels, pay hit men — whatever it takes to continue the northbound flow of drugs.

But in a drug trade that’s measured in the billions of dollars, experts said those efforts have done little to cripple the traffickers’ ability to operate.

Seizures such as the new one in Tijuana “are valuable in signaling to the public that law enforcement is active and working hard. But they are a notoriously bad indicator of success since seizures go up and down dramatically, and there is no clear indication that they have any long-term impact on the overall market,â€