Texas deputies seize nearly $1-million discovered during traffic stop
Joe Villasana, 24 June 2021
ANAHUAC, Texas (KWTX) – Antwone Smith, 35, of South Carolina, is in custody in East Texas after deputies with the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office discovered nearly $1-million in cash in a pickup during a traffic stop on Interstate 10 in an area east of Houston.
Smith was taken into custody and jailed on a charge of money laundering greater than $300,000.
Sheriff Brian Hawthorne said, that at about 2 p.m. Wednesday, deputies observed Smith committing a traffic violation while driving a Ford F-250 pickup on I-10.
A K-9 arrived on scene and gave a positive alert for the vehicle, Hawthorne said.
A “probable cause” search of the vehicle led deputies to two large black bags containing $888,050.00 in U.S. currency, the sheriff said.
A database allegedly revealed Smith had prior convictions for narcotics violations.
“It is believed that the U.S. currency found inside the vehicle is proceeds from the illegal sale and distribution of narcotics,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post.
The currency was seized.
