Oink oink, cha ching: US$3M found in barrels of pork

SHELBY, N.C.—Barrels of raw pork shoulder were riding fat in a tractor trailer pulled over by North Carolina deputies.

Approximately US$3 million in cash was recovered from the barrels Saturday, the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post Tuesday. The driver of the tractor trailer was accused of failing to maintain his lane and impeding the flow of traffic on Interstate 85.

Deputies became suspicious of the truck when a K-9 alerted to the trailer, the post says. Deputies searched the tractor trailer and discovered the cash wrapped in plastic in the barrels.

The money is believed to have been obtained from drug sales throughout the region and was headed to Mexico, Sheriff Alan Norman said.

“It’s one of the largest U.S. currency seizures in Cleveland County history,” Norman told The Shelby Star.

The Department of Justice has been called to assist in the investigation, according to the sheriff’s office.