WICHITA — Authorities say a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper found nearly $350,000 of suspected drug money hidden in the gas tank of a pickup truck after pulling over the driver on Interstate 70.
The Wichita Eagle reports that federal prosecutors filed a civil asset forfeiture case Tuesday, asking a judge to give the money to the government.
The money was found in December after a trooper pulled over the driver for a traffic violation. The affidavit says the cash was “rubber-banded” and “wrapped in vacuum-sealed plastic bags” hidden in the fuel tank.
The driver told the trooper he was headed from Chicago to Pasco, Washington, but declined to answer questions about the money. He has a criminal history involving money laundering.