The money - lots of it - comes south after the drugs go north

Jim Wells deputy keeps busy corraling smugglers and their ill-gotten gains

By Jeremy Schwartz

For virtually each load of cocaine and marijuana sent north, a bundle of cash comes back down to the Rio Grande Valley and Mexico.

Getting the money back is as integral to the smuggling operations as getting the dope out, says one local drug agent, and smugglers dedicate as much in time in developing false compartments and avoiding traffic stops on the return trip.

Southbound drivers don't face the obstacle of a Border Patrol checkpoint. And drug-sniffing dogs have a much harder time detecting cash. But they do face a gauntlet - albeit scaled down - of law enforcement hoping to confiscate money and vehicles they can then add to their drug fighting budget.

Cash cop

For drivers heading south on U.S. Highway 281, the man to fear is Sgt. Ray Escamillacq, Jr. of the Jim Wells County Sheriff's Department. Since February 1997, he has found and confiscated more than $3 million in currency, likely the most cash seized by a single officer in South Texas, according to the Jim Wells County Sheriff's Department.

Escamilla has even printed up personalized business cards, similar to a baseball trading card, with a picture of him holding an assault rifle and a personalized message on the back reading "Never go down the wrong path because if you do there will be someone like me waiting for you." 1 in 20?

Escamilla estimates that as many as one in 20 southbound cars are carrying drug money. While other veteran agents say that estimate may be too high, they say there's no doubt large numbers of southbound vehicles are carrying ill-gotten cash. The problem is finding them.

On a recent afternoon, Escamilla drove north on 281, eyeing the traffic headed toward the Rio Grande Valley. He spotted a gray sedan with a driver who seemed to try and to shield his face when he passed Escamilla's SUV. "That's a good one," Escamilla exclaimed as he stomped the gas and turned his truck left across the grass median, a grin stamped on his face.

Escamilla also noticed that the car has brand new tires and new shocks, signs that it may have been tampered with to create a false compartment. "It looks too weird," he said.

The stop

The car also has a sticker identifying it as having once been stolen on the back windshield, and is registered to a female driver. As Escamilla drives alongside the car, the driver begins to swerve in his lane, a traffic violation that gives Escamilla the opportunity to pull him over.

"Anyone can stop cars, but it's all in the interview, the way you talk to people," Escamilla said. "It's up to that individual as to how I will see it."

Escamilla and other drug agents say it's no longer possible to profile potential drug runners based on their appearance. Everyone from grandmothers to young couples with children have been found smuggling, so agents use interviews to ferret out smugglers.

The evidence

"(Some agents) can look in your car and can put together what you've done in the last 24 hours," said Jaime Garzacq, commander of the South Texas Specialized Crime and Narcotics Task Force. Garza said agents look for clues like receipts, sunflower seed shells or business cards.

Driving a borrowed car or having recently lent the car to someone are among the stories that will raise the eyebrows of agents, who figure a smuggler may want to give himself an out in case contraband is found in the car.

The driver of the gray sedan has a doozie of a story. He said he works for a car moving company and he picked up the sedan in an Austin parking lot with the keys inside. He doesn't have any paperwork and he can't quite remember where the company is based.

Escamilla decides to have the department's drug dog inspect the car and instructs the driver to follow him to the station. Once there, the dog alerts to the front fender and Escamilla uses an 8-foot-long fiber optic scope to probe the inside of the car's dash through the air vents. He notices the windshield has recently been replaced and decides to get a closer look. Because the drug dog alerted to the car, Escamilla has the probable cause he needs to conduct a search.

Persistence

As the driver grimaces, Escamilla uses a drill to take the dashboard apart and calls an auto glass company to remove the windshield. Escamilla said maybe one out of 10 drivers refuse to allow him to search their vehicles. In those cases, officers must show probable cause or get a search warrant. Privately, many say they won't go through the trouble unless they're convinced the vehicle is carrying contraband.

But once the car is opened up, Escamilla doesn't find the expected bundles of cash hidden inside. After two hours, the sheriff's department pays for the windshield to be put back on and the driver, frustrated because he missed an appointment in the Valley, is allowed to continue to McAllen.

"That's the way it is," Escamilla said. "All the elements were there. You can't get discouraged. You have to have faith in yourself."

Contact Jeremy Schwartz at 886-3618 or schwartzj@caller.com

November 21, 2001