HACKENSACK - When police pulled over a nervous Gerald Flores last June, they found seven bundles of cash wrapped tightly in plastic, tucked away in a hidden compartment in his SUV, authorities said.

Gerald Flores (BCPO)

When they counted the money, it totaled $324,000, authorities said. What's more, the money smelled like cocaine, the prosecutor said.

"While counting the currency, it gave off a distinct odor of cocaine," Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal wrote in a civil forfeiture complaint filed this month.

No drugs were found in the vehicle, but Flores, 46, of The Bronx, has been charged with transporting or possessing property believed to be derived from criminal activity, authorities said.

Detectives with the prosecutor's office had received tips as far back as April that Flores was distributing narcotics along the East Coast, Grewal said.

In May, they found out Flores was headed to New Jersey and detectives pulled him over in Hackensack for allegedly following another car too closely. Flores told them he was going to visit his daughter.

"Flores appeared nervous and his hands began to tremble and he struggled to maintain eye contact," the prosecutor said in the complaint.

When detectives asked if they could search the vehicle, Flores refused. So they called out a drug-sniffing police dog.

"The K-9 provided a positive reaction to the odor of narcotics," according to the complaint.

In addition to the cash that smelled like coke, the complaint states officers found a zippered bag containing another $3,000, another $1,040 in cash elsewhere in the car; three iPhones and an iPad with a keyboard, Grewal said.

The prosecutor alleges the cash and property were used to commit drug crimes and filed the forfeiture suit against Flores on Aug. 7 in Bergen County Superior Court.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.