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Federal and state lawmen seized $386,900 in hollowed-out shoes on an Alabama bus headed for the border.

((Immigration and Customs Enforcement))

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Lawmen seized nearly $400,000 in cash hidden in suitcases on a passenger bus in Alabama headed for Mexico, authorities announced Tuesday.

The traffic stop was made by the 17th Alabama Judicial Drug Task Force in Sunday's pre-dawn hours in Cuba, a small town on Interstate 20 right at the Alabama/Mississippi border. Following the initial stop, a drug dog indicated the presence of illegal drugs in the luggage compartment of the bus, and task force officers then carried out the search, said Bryan Cox, spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations.

Cox said officers found large bundles of cash - totaling $386,900- hidden in three suitcases. The first bag held $86,900 wrapped in cellophane and hidden inside a blanket. The second had $155,000 stuffed inside hollowed-out shoes. The third suitcase held $145,000, also stuffed in shoes.

The three people in possession of the suitcases all denied knowledge of the money, and it was seized. Authorities have not speculated where the money came from, but Raymond R. Parmer Jr., special agent in charge of HIS in New Orleans, said this: "Seizing the ill-gotten proceeds of criminal organizations is a highly effective law enforcement tool because it removes the profit incentive and hampers their abilities to fund further illicit actions. This is a prime example of local and federal authorities working together to identify, disrupt and dismantle criminal activities."

HSI investigators out of Birmingham seized the cash after the three people, whose identities haven't been released, denied ownership of the money. Since the bus was headed for Mexico and would have crossed an international border, it was a potential violation of bulk cash smuggling and therefore became a federal case.

Cox said no arrests were made since nobody claimed the money. The investigation is ongoing, and could lead to later arrests.

Authorities encourage the public to report suspected drug smuggling and related information by calling 1-866-DHS-2ICE.