Investigators weren't exactly looking for the money, but said it was a result of a months-long investigation into a cocaine trafficking drug ring and it’s far from over.
“This is a business,” explained Elkhart County Prosecutor Curtis Hill. “This is the organized aspect of a criminal enterprise.”
Police say it is also a small part of a much larger drug trafficking ring that, according to Elkhart County Prosecutor’s Office Investigator Bill Wargo, is being
directed and run from Mexico.
Wargo said the Elkhart County Interdiction & Covert Enforcement (ICE) unit got a tip about drug activity in a strip mall in the 2600 block of Peddler’s Village Road in Goshen Wednesday.
Police then followed three cars that left the area. They pulled over a van from Illinois for a traffic violation. Inside they found a small amount of suspected cocaine in a baggie and $275,720 in shrink-wrapped cash.
They arrested three people — Maria Guzman, 26, of Cicero, IL; Luis Bramblia Arechiga, 35, of Chicago; and Octaviano Ramirez, 28. The prosecutor’s office said Ramirez is not a U.S. Citizen and has been here illegally for four months.
All three are facing charges of cocaine possession and maintaining a common nuisance.
Officers found another $13,800 in a second vehicle they stopped. No arrests were made from that vehicle.
Wargo said investigators believe all the money was headed to Mexico.
“It’s also extraordinary in the fact that the money is out there floating around in the drug trade, right on the streets where you're driving, where your family is driving,” said Hill.
It’s also a symptom of a bigger drug problem.
“We’ve focused a lot of attention on Mexican meth that was brought into this country by Mexican organized crime,” Wargo said. “These are the same types of organizations. And based on our intelligence gathering, these same organizations can get meth, but the price of the meth is so prohibitive that cocaine is the way to go right now.”
Hill said he plans to petition the court for all the money seized. If a judge grants the petition, it will be turned over to the Elkhart County ICE unit. From there, Hill said it will be divided among Elkhart County police agencies to use in their fight against drugs.
Wargo wouldn’t say exactly how big the drug trafficking investigation is, but said they have been in contact with law enforcement agencies in other states. He also said more arrests are likely.
(credit:WSBT.com)
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