EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – A man and a woman sharing a last name are facing money laundering charges after a Pecos County, Texas, sheriff’s deputy found $795,535 hidden in their gray Chevrolet Tahoe.
Federal investigators suspect the cash was headed to Juarez, Mexico, according to a criminal complaint filed on July 9 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.
The Pecos County deputy assigned to criminal interdiction in nearby Reeves County stopped the Tahoe for a traffic infraction on Interstate 10 on the morning of June 20. He ran a records check that revealed the vehicle had crossed into the U.S. from Juarez on June 17.
Further record checks revealed the Tahoe had made it to Chicago on June 18 and started making its way back to its point of origin the next day, the complaint states.
The deputy interviewed the driver, Lizeth Duarte, the passenger and registered owner of the Tahoe, Christian Duarte, and allegedly received “inconsistent statements.”
He requested permission from both to search the vehicle and found several vacuum-sealed packages of U.S. currency concealed in the rear quarter panels of the Tahoe, the complaint alleges.
The pair declined to answer further questions and stated they wanted a lawyer.
Records show authorities took the cash to a bank in Pecos, which verified the seized amount as $795,535. It’s the largest cash seizure near the U.S.-Mexico border since U.S. Customs and Border Protection found $815,475 in a vehicle trying to exit the country over the Anzalduas International Bridge on June 16.
Agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration later linked the telephone numbers of Christian and Lizeth Duarte to ongoing criminal investigations, the complaint alleges.
In a sworn statement to U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald Griffin, a DEA special agent stated Christian Duarte was arrested in 2023 on a separate money laundering charge, and that vacuum-sealed bags are commonly used by drug trafficking organizations to suppress the smell of narcotics or cash.
Records show Christian Duarte’s attorney made an appearance in federal court on Friday on behalf of his client.
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