LAREDO, Texas -- The U.S. government wants to cripple powerful drug cartels by going after their cash. Billions of drug dollars smuggled out of this country pay for weapons, bribes and other criminal expenses.
It's high stakes game of hide and seek.
Victor Torres Cruz and his canine partner Akim search for bundles of cash bound for Mexico.
"The drugs come in and the money goes out" says Jose Uribe, director of the Customs and Border Protection's Laredo Port.
Now more drug money goes out in the form of cold, hard cash.
Tighter financial controls after 911 that targeted funding for terrorists made it harder for cartels to use wire transfers and other methods to move their money.
The U.S. confiscated more than $282 million at the border the past two years - thanks to increased southbound checks. But it's still only a fraction of the estimated $40 billion in U.S. drug sales.
Smugglers stash the cash in false compartments in vehicles, on their bodies or carry it in grocery bags. In one case, smugglers stuffed diapers with wads of $50 bills. In another case, officers discovered the money in a box of laundry detergent.
The preferred route, the NAFTA Super Highway, is also a narco cash corridor. I-35 runs straight to the border.
The busiest border crossings in the country are in Laredo, and once a smuggler carrying cash makes it across that border, he or she can connect to a well developed system of state and federal highways and deliver that money to criminal organizations throughout Mexico.
Cartels use their dirty money to buy more drugs, guns and to bribe cops and government officials. Sometimes cartels smuggle dollars and high powered weapons used to wage war against rivals and the government in the same shipment.
Border canines like Akim are trained to detect the scent of both currency and weapons.
These days more smugglers try to shuttle the contraband across the border on buses. During a recent search, Akim found 75 bundles with $3 million. The $3 million was hidden in false compartments under the seats.
It is one of the largest single currency seizures on the southwest border.
Finding more cash remains a daunting task as cartels constantly change strategies to ensure their drug dollars make it to Mexico.
