CORPUS CHRISTIE, Texas – The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) seized more than $1.5 million in cash from a semi during a traffic stop on Nov. 17 along U.S. Highway 281 in Brooks County as part of Operation Lone Star.
The bust happened just after 7 a.m. when a trooper stopped a south-bound 18-wheeler for a traffic violation, according to the DPS.
During the stop, the trooper discovered 56 bundles of U.S. currency totaling $1,530,067 and two handguns — all of which were concealed in a false compartment within the semi-trailer.
The driver, 43-year-old Miguel Martinez-Navarro, of Dallas, Texas, was arrested for money laundering and booked into the Brooks County Jail.
Operation Lone Star was put into place to combat human smuggling.
