A recent discovery of more than $144,000 allegedly associated with the drug trafficking industry ranks as one of the largest seizures ever recorded in the history of La Porte County law enforcement.
Authorities say that shortly before 3 p.m. on Tuesday, February 19th, La Porte County Deputy Wade Wallace initiated a traffic stop on a passenger vehicle on US 20, just west of CR 350.
After making contact with the driver, who was indentified as Alberto Rosales, Deputy Wallace summoned a K-9 unit to the scene. Deputy Jon Samuelson and his K-9 Partner Bosco arrived at the scene.
An investigation was conducted and reportedly led to the discovery of five square shaped bundles. The bundles were transported to the Sheriff’s Office for further examination.
Rosales was arrested and transported to the La Porte County Jail after it was determined he was a wanted person through Elkhart County. On Monday, February 25th, Rosales was released.
The official incident report goes on to say that in a controlled environment, the five bundles were opened and determined to be various denominations of US currency. The monies were tallied and resulted in the seizure of $144,200.
Because the seized money is supposedly associated with the drug trafficking industry, agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) were contacted to assist.
Since the seizure, the Sheriff’s Office, the DEA and the La Porte County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, have been working together to complete forfeiture paperwork. The seizure investigation is still ongoing and no further information will be released at this time.
La Porte County Captain Derek J. Jones explained that a concerted effort of enforcement is being made on La Porte County roadways that are known to be involved in the drug and trafficking industry.
He added that the Sheriff’s Office has been encouraging and reminding patrol division deputies to remain proactive and aggressive and to utilize the tools and resources that are readily available to them.
Jones said Deputies remain committed to holding individuals accountable who traffic drugs, large amounts of monies associated with the drug trade and fire arms, into and through La Porte County.
