$23,250 in Gift Cards Seized

St. Tammany Parish deputies with the Highway Enforcement Unit stopped a rental vehicle for improper lane use near Lacombe  Monday afternoon (February 19, 2018). A consensual search of the vehicle uncovered 100 gift cards hidden throughout the vehicle. The gift cards were loaded with a total of approximately $23,250.
Neither the driver, Carlos Sanchez-Rodriguez, nor his son, Jose Carlos Sanchez-Perez, claimed ownership of the gift cards. A post-stop investigation discovered the two were on a two-day turn-around trip from Texas and the gift cards were suspected proceeds from illegal activity.
The gift cards were seized and both occupants were released, with Carlos Sanchez-Rodriguez being issued a citation for the traffic violation.