A hoard of currency including $8,000 has been seized from a driver suspected of narcotics trafficking
Zapata-Chairez
A La Salle County sheriff’s deputy on routine patrol along IH-35 early Monday, July 18, succeeded in seizing narcotics and at least $8,000 in cash from a man suspected of criminal activity.
A report on the case from the sheriff’s office later the same day indicated that San Antonio resident Jacinto Tadeo Zapata-Chairez, 42, had been traveling south in a 2013 Ford F-150 pickup truck when he was the subject of a traffic stop near IH-35 Milemarker 63 by La Salle Deputy Richard Gonzales. The officer noted that the driver had recently been released from custody on bond, having been arrested on a charge of human smuggling.
Zapata-Chairez was found in possession of four grams of cocaine during Monday’s traffic stop.
A subsequent examination of the man’s vehicle revealed bundles of US currency that the La Salle County Sheriff’s Office is describing as the likely proceeds from narcotics trade. The cash has been seized and may be forfeited if Zapata-Chairez fails to provide adequate documentation to prove legitimate ownership.
The suspect was jailed on a second-degree felony charge of narcotics possession.
