Madison County Traffic Arrest: This Is What $1.5 Million In Cash Looks Like (PHOTO)
The announcement from the Madison County State's Attorney's Office.
And the full State Police press release:
D-11 Traffic Stop Leads to the Discovery of over $1.5 Million Dollars in U.S CurrencyMADISON COUNTY, IL - Illinois State Police (ISP) today commended the good work of District 11 troopers and pointed to ISP's largest cash seizure in years.
On January 26, at approximately 3:30 p.m., a District 11 Trooper patrolling I-55, southbound near Collinsville, stopped a 2004 white Volvo convertible for improper lane usage with an illegal license plate cover. Conversation with the driver led the Trooper to believe there was criminal activity. The Trooper asked for, and was granted consent to look further inside the vehicle. Upon further investigation, the Trooper located 27 vacuum-sealed plastic bags containing $1,589,860 in U.S. currency.
"Cash amounts this large are usually connected to illegal drug trafficking," said District 11 Commander, Captain Brad Parsons. "Drugs destroy lives and rip families apart, but when our officers apply training and solid police work, they are able to hinder the ability of these criminal enterprises from harming more people," he added.
Arrested for money laundering was Carole Irene Galvez, 62, from Gila Bend, Arizona. Galvez is currently being held at the Madison County Jail on a $500,000 bond.
The Illinois State Police and the Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southern Illinois (MEGSI) collaborated on this investigation. They worked closely with the Madison County State's Attorney's office to secure charges.
And a larger version of Galvez's mugshot.
More from our Crime archive: "St. Louis Homicides: Weekend of Violence Claims Three Men -- Nos. 12 - 14 of 2013"
Follow Sam Levin on Twitter at @SamTLevin. E-mail the author at Sam.Levin@RiverfrontTimes.com.
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