https://www.kwtx.com/2025/04/28/undocumented-immigrant-held-mclennan-county-texas-money-laundering-charge/

An undocumented immigrant is being held at the McLennan County Jail after he was pulled over on I-35 by a Texas DPS trooper and found to be in possession of U.S. currency he was transporting “as a favor,” an arrest warrant affidavit states.

Gustavo Adolfo Santos Jaime, 31, is charged with money laundering greater than $30,000 under $150,000. Online jail records show his bond was set at $10,000.

Santos, however, is being held on an immigration detainer, meaning Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has 48 hours to take him into custody if he is able to bond out of jail.

At about 10:20 p.m. on April 24, a state trooper pulled over the driver of a Chevrolet Spark because the driver was speeding 80 miles per hour in a 65 mph zone near mile marker 337 on I-35 south in McLennan County. The driver was identified as Santos, a citizen of Tamaulipas, Mexico, the arrest warrant states.

The trooper observed a female passenger in the backseat was not wearing a seatbelt and a 2-year-old toddler was not properly restrained in a car seat.

“While taking enforcement action, I developed a reasonable suspicion that Santos was engaged in organized criminal activity based on my training and experience in deceptive behavior analysis and criminal interdiction,” the trooper wrote in the warrant.

Santos told the trooper he was traveling from Dallas to Mexico but was “deceptive” when asked what he did for a living in Dallas, the warrant states. His story “changed numerous times and conflicted with the passenger’s itinerary,” the trooper further documented.

When the trooper asked for permission to search the vehicle, Santos denied consent, the warrant states.

DPS K-9 officer Athena was deployed to inspect the small sedan and alerted the trooper to the odor of narcotics, the warrant alleges.

The trooper conducted a probable cause search of the vehicle and found two bags containing 27 bundles of U.S. currency inside a cardboard box, the document states.

Santos claimed he was transporting the bulk of the cash as a favor to someone he met at a gas station. The man said he was told the amount of cash was approximately $100,000, “but could be more,” the trooper wrote.

According to the affidavit, Santos later admitted to picking up the money from an individual at a Dollar General store in Dallas in order for the currency to be taken into Mexico.

The trooper took Santos into custody and released the Chevrolet Spark to the passenger riding in the backseat.

The money was turned over to DPS’ Criminal Investigation Division and authorities are “awaiting an official count at the bank.”