Mexican Cartels are increasingly on the losing end of a “cat and mouse” game with federal and local law enforcement officers on the hunt for their smugglers driving through Kleberg County in South Texas.
Cartel smugglers moving drugs north on US Highway 77 must pass through a Border Patrol checkpoint South of the Kleberg County seat of Kingsville -- and the checkpoint agents are known for frequently seizing large drug loads.
The southbound lanes of US 77 belong to cartel “money mules” smuggling cartel profits from their illegal US operations back to Mexico-- and Kleberg County officers are proving to be effective at spotting them, stopping them, and finding the cartel cash hidden throughout whatever they are driving.
The large bundles of cash (of $326,901) pictured at the top of this article were seized from a cartel courier during a traffic stop by a Kleberg County Deputy Sheriff earlier this month.
And that big cartel cash seizure wasn’t a “one-off.”
On September 2, 2025, Special Agents of the Kleberg County Attorney’s Specialized Crimes and Narcotics Task Force took down a whopping $578,725 worth of cartel cash during two separate traffic stops on Highway 77.
The first stop, which occurred in the morning, resulted in the discovery of eleven bundles of U.S. currency (totaling $312,495) stashed inside a duffel bag.
During the second stop, which happened later that night, a task force K9 sniffed out another $312,495 of cartel profits in cash bundles tucked under the passenger seat.
Three people were arrested on suspicion of money laundering in both cases.
Between now and the beginning of September, Kleberg County Officers have reported seizing around a million dollars’ worth of suspected cartel currency from a half-dozen traffic stops!
How big of a hit do you think the cartels are taking from these big cash seizures?
Share your opinion in the comments on this article!
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Abrazos,
Jack Beavers
I hope it burns
They feel some pain and continue Operations as usual.
Its baked in to the cost of business.