Large-Scale Cash Recoveries on I-57 Due to Enforcement Team, Luck

Three recent traffic stops on Interstate 57 in east-central Illinois have yielded significant amounts of cash and drugs, but it's only part of the flow of drug traffic along the highway.

So says an Illinois State Police spokesman, who says part of the purpose of an ongoing patrol team of troopers is to watch out for illegal cargoes in cars and trucks. Sergeant Bill Emery says just last week officers pulled over a vehicle with more than 100 pounds of marijuana in a luggage carrier. An earlier stop on 57 turned up 2.7 million dollars in hidden cash, with another finding nearly 600 thousand dollars.

Emery says police have to have probable cause to search a vehicle, but in these cases the drivers and passengers tipped themselves off. He says those who act unnecessarily nervous or contradict their stated travel plans raise police suspicions, and all three drivers signed consent-to-search forms.

Emery says the Strategic Enforcement Team has four troopers and a police dog working out of the Pesotum post - they vary their schedules to patrol problem areas on state roads, including I-57.