Dog found a drug money in a hidden compartment

Alameda County Sheriff's officials say deputies seized about a half million dollars of suspected drug money in a hidden compartment during a traffic stop last week at Altamont Pass.

Deputies pulled over a red 2004 Ford Explorer about 6:45 p.m. April 6 after it allegedly sped past them near Patterson Pass Road on eastbound Interstate 580, said Lt. Kelly Miles. During the stop, the 37-year-old driver allowed deputies to use a drug-sniffing police dog to search the vehicle.

The dog picked up a scent in the back of the vehicle and deputies found a secret compartment that had $470,000 stashed inside a garbage bag and a cereal box.

The driver, who said he was from Los Angeles, was charged with an immigration violation. A 46-year-old passenger inside the vehicle was not arrested.

Because no drugs were found in the hidden compartment, no drug charges have been filed. It is illegal to have a false compartment that is used to store illegal drugs inside a vehicle.

The Sheriff's office will keep about 80 percent of the money it seized. The remaining 20 percent will go to the federal government.

In 1984 Congress passed a crime bill that included a provision allowing law enforcement agencies to seize cash and property that are associated with drug-related offenses.

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