Princeton, IL – New court documents reveal Illinois officials seized more than $9 million in cash from a tractor-trailer during a drug bust last month along Interstate 80.

On August 11, the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Narcotics Team (TRI-DENT) seized what officials described at the time as a “very large sum” of money in cash from a big rig on I-80 east of Princeton.

Court records now filed in the case reveal it is the largest such seizure in the history of Bureau County, IL.

The total amount of cash seized was $9,267,845.

Alberto Aguilar and Jose Angel Flores-Salgado Jr. were in the big rig at the time of the bust, though neither are currently facing criminal charges.

The cash is believed to belong to a Mexican drug cartel.

However, under Illinois law, the owners of the cash have until November 18 to file an answer and until November 20 to appear in Circuit Court.

If no answer is filed, a default judgement can be entered by Bureau County State’s Attorney Geno Caffarini which would be a windfall to local law enforcement agencies.

The arresting agency, TRI-DENT in this case, would receive 65 percent of any forfeiture, which would be over $6 million.

Another 25 percent would be split between Caffarini’s office and the Office of the Appellate Prosecutor, with each getting nearly $1.2 million.

The remaining 10 percent would go to the Illinois State Police.

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