Citizen Staff Writer
State and local detectives uncovered $1.5 million in drug funds in midtown Tucson, an Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman said Thursday.
The money, all U.S. currency, was found early Wednesday in six suitcases near a house in the 700 block of North Richey Boulevard, DPS Officer Jim Oien said. Three people were arrested, charged with conspiracy and money laundering and booked into the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, Oien said.
The bust was a joint effort between DPS and the Pima County/Tucson Metropolitan Counter Narcotics Alliance, which went to the house after receiving a tip about suspicious activity, Oien said.
The three arrested were Terrance Davis, 32, of Tucson, who had been driving away from the residence in a 2007 Toyota Avalon containing cash; Calvin Wiggins, 26; and James Reaves, 20, both from Detroit.
Four of the suitcases were inside trash cans near the home, Oien said, and two had apparently been thrown over a fence into a next-door neighbor’s backyard.
IRS agents were also called in to assist with the investigation, he said, which is ongoing.
Oien said it was one of the largest currency seizures ever made by the local narcotics alliance.
RYN GARGULINSKI
rynski@tucsoncitizen.com