The past 30 days have been costly for Mexican cartels whose smugglers attempted to return profits from their drug operations to them from Texas. Law enforcement officers in the Lone Star State seized $2,439,000 in cartel cash during a series of raids, traffic stops, and vehicle searches stretching from Houston all the way south to the Texas-Mexico border.
Here’s a rundown of those big busts:
HOUSTON: $1 Million +
On May 28, 2026, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced that its agents, along with officers from the Harris County Constable Precinct 2 Office, had seized “over a million dollars in bulk cash and assets, 18 firearms, and multiple pounds of synthetic marijuana” from a Houston home during a recent drug raid.
RIO GRANDE VALLEY: $570,000
On June 2, 2026, the US Border Patrol Rio Grande Valley Sector announced that its agents had seized $570,000 in cash before a “money mule” could smuggle it south of the border to return profits (likely from US drug sales) to one of the cartels.
LAREDO: $504,000
US Customs & Border Protection (CBP) stopped more than $500,000 in cartel cash from being smuggled back to Mexico during two separate seizures in Laredo last month.
On May 15, 2026, the CBP announced its agents had discovered more than $272,000 in cash hidden beneath the floorboards of a vehicle a smuggler was attempting to drive across an international bridge in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.
Three days later, the CBP announced its agents had seized another $272,000 in cartel cash hidden inside another vehicle a Mexican citizen was attempting to drive into Nuevo Laredo from Laredo, Texas.
KLEBERG COUNTY: $365,000
Also, last month, the Kleberg County-based South Texas Specialized Crimes and Narcotics Task Force seized $365,000 cash from two different cartel couriers during traffic stops of southbound vehicles on US Highway 77 about 125 miles north of the Texas-Mexico border.
On May 6, 2026, South Texas Task Force Agents found 10 vacuum-sealed, duct-taped bundles concealed within the rear seat and back wall of a vehicle containing $227,398 in cash. The driver (who was arrested) told officers he was headed from Houston to Matamoros, Mexico, when they first stopped him.
And on May 26, 2026, a South Texas Task Force K9 alerted a Task Force Special Agent to take a closer look at another southbound vehicle that had been pulled over for a traffic stop. That led to the discovery of two vacuum-sealed bundles containing $138,000 cash, along with approximately one pound of marijuana concealed inside a cooler.
Two men from Harlingen, Texas (one of them a confirmed Tango Blast/Valluco gang member currently on probation) were arrested.
If this is how much money Texas cops have seized in just 30 days, what do you think is the actual amount of cartel cash flowing into Mexico each month?
Share your thoughts in the comments to this story!
Abrazos,
Jack Beavers
Thanks for reading US Border News! This post is public, so feel free to share it.
Jack, great to hear that cartel couriers have been arrested. I heard on Fox News that a tunnel from Mexico to the USA has been discovered. Have you heard anything about this tunnel? Jack , I rely on you for the information you report on to us Patriots. Thank you.
Atleast twice that amount-------it's a long border and the US appetite for drugs shows no signs of slowing down.