An accused brother-sister drug trafficking team is behind bars after Miami-Dade police seized at least $24 million in cash during a home raid.
In what is being called the largest cash seizure in department history, detectives found bundles of $100 bills in heat-sealed bags stuffed into five-gallon orange buckets and hidden in a secret wall compartment of a Miami Lakes home, according to the Miami Herald.
Luis Hernandez-Gonzalez, 44, and his sister Salma Hernandez, 32, were both taken into custody Tuesday.
Hernandez-Gonzalez — who is being held on more than $10 million bond, according to jail records — is now facing charges including money laundering, marijuana trafficking and possession of a firearm while committing a felony.
Gonzalez was held on $12,500 bail for conspiracy and drug-related charges.
The alleged pot peddler, who runs a Miami gardening store called The Blossom Experience, was targeted by police who believed he was involved in trafficking marijuana in Tennessee along with two other men.
The store is believed to cater to the illegal marijuana-growing industry and was raided by police and federal agents Tuesday.
Authorities found marijuana, marijuana seeds and $180,000 cash in a safe.
Next, police raided his cushy home and found the buckets of cash along with a Tec-9 with an extended clip.
The DEA began investigating Hernandez-Gonzalez back in 2010, after he dished to a confidential informant about the secrets of drug trafficking.
This year, agents took interest in the business owner again when they caught him on a wiretap giving pot-growing advice to suspected traffickers.
After his collar, Hernandez-Gonzalez confessed to helping Blossom Experience customers grow pot.
