Man in U.S. illegally had 11 bundles of cash hidden during Coast traffic stop, agents say
A traffic stop on I-10 in Gautier has led to the arrest of a Mexican national and the seizure of $144,075 in cash stowed away in hidden compartments in a car.
Alejandro Villanueva-Santacruz was arrested on a charge of illegally re-entering the country after authorities stopped him for careless driving the evening of Nov. 13.
After the stop, a U.S. Border Patrol agent became suspicious when Villanueva-Santacruz and a passenger gave conflicting stories about their travel plans.
The two, one of whom was not arrested, claimed they were traveling back to Houston from Atlanta.
According to a criminal complaint, the Border Patrol agent and member of the South Mississippi Metro Enforcement Team in Jackson County and his police K-9 subsequently searched the suspect’s white 2015 Ford Escape.
Inside, the K-9 alerted the officer to a front passenger-side floorboard.
Because the weather was bad, the complaint said, authorities took the car to the Gautier City Barn, where authorities found two hidden compartments under the front floorboard that contained 11 cellophane-wrapped bundles of cash.
SMMET agents arrested took Villanueva-SantaCruz into custody for illegally re-entering the country. He had previously deported back to Mexico in January 2014 but returned to the United States in November 2015, court records say.
A federal grand jury indicted Villaneuva-Santacruz on the felony charge. A federal judge has ordered him held without bond.
This story was originally published November 26, 2019 at 12:00 AM.
