Staff report

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office issued a statement Friday that said law enforcement agencies recovered a large amount of cash this week — it was suspected to be drug money — bound for the Mexican border.

In a statement issued Friday, the Sheriff’s Office said Drug Enforcement Agents in Beaumont conducted a surveillance investigation in search of an 18-wheeler believed to be carrying a large amount of drug money to the Texas-Mexico border.

The statement said the truck was initially located in Lafayette, Louisiana and tracked into Texas. At 8:27 p.m. Wednesday, DEA agents with the assistance of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office; Beaumont, Vidor and Port Arthur police; and the Texas Department of Public Safety stopped the vehicle near Beaumont on Interstate 10 near the 848 mile marker.
A search of the 18-wheeler yielded $500,219 in cash along with a handgun. The driver was interviewed and said he had no knowledge of how a suitcase full of cash got into his vehicle.

The driver was identified and released. The cash and gun were seized.

The investigation was continuing, authorities said Friday.