New TPD Unit Seizes 15 Pounds Of Pot, $37K In Suspicious Cash In Separate Cases This Month

TUSCALOOSA, AL —The Tuscaloosa Police Department is touting the effectiveness of a new investigative unit focused on interstate crime enforcement that has already made two major seizures of suspicious cash and marijuana.

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As Tuscaloosa Police Chief Brent Blankley pointed out, the new specialized Interstate Crime Enforcement (ICE) unit was formed in late January to combat criminal activity coming through the busy I-20/59 corridor.

The abbreviation for the department's newest investigative unit is not to be confused with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement division of the Department of Homeland Security. It's also a concept that has been in use for some time in Alabama cities with heavy interstate traffic, such as Bessemer and Hoover.

"We formed this unit in response to the criminal activity we know comes through the I-20/59 corridor," Blankley told Patch. "It's long been known as a route from the southwest to Birmingham, Atlanta and further north. It's also a heavily-traveled route by human and sex traffickers."

The new unit has been busy, too, with Blankley mentioning two major seizures just this month that he believes highlights the need for the dedicated unit.

EARLY SUCCESS

The first big win for the Tuscaloosa Police Department's ICE Unit came on April 5.

An ICE investigator was patrolling Interstate 20/59 when they noticed a vehicle swerve over the fog line from the left lane, prompting the officer to initiate a traffic stop.

Once the vehicle was pulled over, the driver — who has not been charged as of the publication of this story — provided the officer with a Texas-issued driver's license and was informed he would be receiving a warning citation for improper lane use.

But then the officer noticed the man's behavior change, as he visibly began to act nervous and was excessively sweating from his forehead. This was despite mild weather outside noted by the officer and the patrol vehicle's air conditioning being set to 60 degrees.

The officer then questioned the man about his trip itinerary, learning that the man had driven from Houston, Texas to New York and was now driving back to Houston — all in the span of three days.

This led the officer to refer back to his training, he said, as drug traffickers are known to make quick turn-around trips over long distances, often traveling to and from major cities using the interstate system.

"The officers selected for this unit are highly trained," Blankley explained. "They follow stringent protocols to ensure accountability, and to ensure people's constitutional rights are in no way violated."

Noting the odd behavior, the officer asked the man for consent to search the vehicle, which he was granted. When searching the rear of the vehicle, the officer discovered a blue duffle bag containing what he thought were clothes.

"I moved the clothes around and located a plastic bag, wrapped around another plastic bag, wrapped around a third plastic bag," the officer wrote in the report. "Inside the third plastic bag was a large bundle of assorted US currency, which was later determined to be $25,000."

The man then insisted to the officer that the money wasn't his, before the officer located another large bundle of assorted currency — $12,000.

"The money was packaged and bundled in a way I know, due my training and experience, to be consistent with the way drug traffickers transport illegal contraband across the country in hopes a narcotics K-9 will not detect it," the officer said.

The man complied when instructed to follow the officers to the Tuscaloosa Municipal Courthouse, but officers mentioned that he was not willing to cooperate.

However, the cash, still in its original packaging, was placed by an investigator into a drawer in a separate room of the building where narcotics or evidence have never been placed or stored.

The unit's K-9 officer was then deployed in the room and positively alerted investigators to the cash concealed in the drawer.

Then, as investigators were counting the money, officers said the man clearly and spontaneously informed them that it was $37,000. Still, he maintained his innocence with respect to ownership of the money.

The man was eventually served with a seizure order return form and a receipt for the cash seized. He was also issued a warning citation for improper lane use and released, pending no charges.

This is where some may question the overall approach by police when seizing large amounts of suspicious cash. Indeed, despite not receiving any charges, the money is being held by the Tuscaloosa Police Department until the man can prove the cash is his, since it was originally in his possession.

Still, TPD believes dedicating resources to combat the nuances of criminal activity on the interstate is a big step forward in making Tuscaloosa a safer place. This also comes at a time when many are calling for action in the wake of a noticeable uptick in gun violence.

And it's also worth noting that the day after the odd traffic stop, investigators looked into the phone number the man was calling on the roadside during the traffic stop, running it through a law enforcement information system. This inquiry led them to the names of two other individuals, one of whom was previously arrested in 2017 for money laundering that was greater than or equal to $300,000.

In an unrelated case, TPD's ICE unit saw its investigators on Tuesday arrest a man with 15 pounds of marijuana — one of the department's largest asset seizures in recent years. Some experts, in addition to a 2018 bust in Tuscaloosa that yielded the same amount, speculate the street value of the marijuana seized on Tuesday would in the range of $50,000 total.

The Tuscaloosa Police Department has been the most recent among the state's big cities to push for citations instead of a trip to the county jail for low-level marijuana possession. But, as Patch previously reported, Blankley was quick to say that TPD officers will still enforce the same laws on the books when it comes to amounts larger than an ounce or when the person in possession of the marijuana fails to comply with law enforcement.

The seizure on Tuesday was made after an officer conducted a traffic stop on a Jeep Cherokee and noticed the smell of marijuana. After establishing probable cause for a search, the officer discovered the large quantity of marijuana in the back vehicle.

Jose Adalid Ramirez Cornejo was then taken into custody and charged with trafficking marijuana and failure to affix a tax stamp. He was booked into the Tuscaloosa County Jail Tuesday, where his bond was set at $1.5 million for trafficking and $7,500 for the tax stamp charge.

"We know that drugs and the drug trade contribute to violence in our communities," Blankley said, "and we want to use every resource possible to combat that."

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