Miami-Dade police raided the home of 44-year old Luis Hernandez-Gonzalez, who was suspected of trafficking weed, yesterday and walked away with the biggest cash seizure in the history of Miami-Dade police.
Authorities found $24 million in cash, all in bundles of $100, stuffed inside dozens of 5-gallon Home Depot buckets. The Miami Herald reports that police are still counting all of the money, which was stashed inside a hidden compartment behind some fiberglass insulation in the attic, but it has already broken the department's record for the biggest cash bust.
Hernandez-Gonzalez, who owns and operates the Blossom Experience a store that sells lights, fans and other indoor gardening equipment, faces a handful of charges including money laundering, marijuana trafficking and possession of a firearm while committing a felony.
Along with the $24 million in cash found at his Miami Lakes home, police also found a loaded Tec-9 pistol with the all important extended clip.
According to an arrest report, the DEA first began targeting Hernandez-Gonzalez back in 2010, when he openly discussed the ins-and-outs of the marijuana trade with a confidential informant. On its website, Blossom Experience touts itself as “unmatched service and support for their indoor gardening needs.”
His name surfaced again earlier this year when DEA agents monitoring phone calls as part of a wide-ranging marijuana probe that netted the arrest of 11 people in Tennessee.
The wiretaps recorded Hernandez-Gonzalez, in phone calls, giving advice to suspected traffickers in Tennessee about how to care for the plants.
On Tuesday, police and agents raided the Blossom Experience, finding marijuana seeds, marijuana labeled “Super Skunk and Chernobyl” and $180,000 cash in a safe. He admitted to frequently helping customers learn how to “properly cultivate marijuana,” Miami-Dade Detective Jonathan Santana wrote in his arrest report.
Hernandez-Gonzalez's sister, who also worked at the Blossom Experience, was also arrested along with two other men believed to be trafficking weed in Tennessee.
[Via]