HOUSTON – What looked to be a routine traffic stopped turned into a major bust for one Harris County Sheriff's deputy.
The deputy pulled over a vehicle on the 1700 block of Market Street off I-10 East on Oct. 29 and found nearly $500,000 in drug money during a search.
The driver was acting nervous when the deputy approached the vehicle, sheriff's officials said. The driver told the deputy he was a construction worker who was just getting off work, but the deputy noticed the drivers clothes were too clean to just be getting off work, according to sheriff's officials.
That's when the deputy asked to search the vehicle, to which the driver agreed. During the search, the deputy found $448,000 in cash and several bags in the front seat. Both the money, bags and the vehicle were seized.
The driver said the Gulf Coast Cartel paid him to deliver the money, according to sheriff's officials.
The driver and vehicle were transported to the sheriff's office in Wallisville where a K9 unit identified narcotics coming from packages found inside the vehicle. The driver was not arrested pending an investigation.
It was the second bust in as many days for the deputy. On Oct. 28, he stopped another vehicle in which $12,000 was seized.
