I always thought that these people buy jalopies and then drive them across the border to resell. Lately I've been seeing them stuffed with a bunch of junk inside of them.

I was driving I-10 east near Ozona this weekend and saw about 7 cars all pulling at least two "in-tow" behind each. Junk stuffed to the roof inside of each as well. This is a full blown operation! And what are they doing heading east? They should be heading south!

Going to Mexico

Ive heard rumors of it also being involved with the drug trade but they are headed south

Mexico. I always see them heading south on 16 when we head to Freer.

If you're towing vehicles you might as well maximize your space I guess.

Well, might as well fill the empty cars up.

Fishin Texas Aggie 05 said:

---

Going to Mexico

Ive heard rumors of it also being involved with the drug trade but they are headed south

---

I've always wondered how many of those towed vehicles are stuffed with cash from U.S. drug sales.
How many hundreds could be put inside the engine, transmission, rear end if hollowed out?

Paisanos

Apparently you haven't driven 59 very often.

How tf do state troopers not see that and pull them over to check em?

Mas89 said:

---

Fishin Texas Aggie 05 said:

---

Going to Mexico

Ive heard rumors of it also being involved with the drug trade but they are headed south

---

I've always wondered how many of those towed vehicles are stuffed with cash from U.S. drug sales.
How many hundreds could be put inside the engine, transmission, rear end if hollowed out?

---

None. They dont smuggle cash in cars that stick out like sore thumbs.

Speckled Trout said:

---

Apparently you haven't driven 59 very often.

---

Or 35

Speckled Trout said:

---

Apparently you haven't driven 59 very often.

---

Came to post this. Drive a loop to the Valley back to the Houston area for work regularly and it's not rare to see 5-6 separate groups headed south.

Mas89 said:

---

Fishin Texas Aggie 05 said:

---

Going to Mexico

Ive heard rumors of it also being involved with the drug trade but they are headed south

---

I've always wondered how many of those towed vehicles are stuffed with cash from U.S. drug sales.
How many hundreds could be put inside the engine, transmission, rear end if hollowed out?

---

Maybe they use the drug money to when pay cash for the cars here and then sell them when they get to Mexico to turn it back into cash. Pretty simple money laundering scheme that also prevents cash from being seized at the border. If less than $10K and purchased from individuals there's probably little to no chance of the sales ever being reported to any authority.

I have seen them my whole life heading home to Del Rio from the farm in San Angelo. They buy junk for next to nothing and sell it in Mexico.

Our work hand does it when he goes back to D.F. for the holidays. He buys stuff that doesn't work/run, fixes it and sells its own there. Vehicles, 4 wheelers, mowers, appliances, coolers, bicycles, welders, anything you could think of.

Not saying they are all innocent, but if our work hand is hauling cash/contraband of any sort he is damn good at it, has been going back to D.F. for forty something years without the slightest bit of trouble.

Mexico has some strange law that restricts imports of new vehicles but allows for imports of vehicles 10 years or older or something like that, so there is a constant stream of older used cars going into Mexico to be refurbished and sold, or used as parts for repairs.

You would think that after a few runs and some money saved up, that they would just buy a dually and a car hauling double decker trailer

That's been a thing on 35 South for a couple decades now. I've seen them filled with bicycles on their way down more often than anything else.

southernskies said:

---

You would think that after a few runs and some money saved up, that they would just buy a dually and a car hauling double decker trailer

---

That would require a CDL and DOT compliance as well as more expensive insurance. These folks are doing this for as cheap as possible.

aggieforester05 said:

---

Mas89 said:

---

Fishin Texas Aggie 05 said:

---

Going to Mexico

Ive heard rumors of it also being involved with the drug trade but they are headed south

---

I've always wondered how many of those towed vehicles are stuffed with cash from U.S. drug sales.
How many hundreds could be put inside the engine, transmission, rear end if hollowed out?

---

Maybe they use the drug money to when pay cash for the cars here and then sell them when they get to Mexico to turn it back into cash. Pretty simple money laundering scheme that also prevents cash from being seized at the border. If less than $10K and purchased from individuals there's probably little to no chance of the sales ever being reported to any authority.

---

The goal of money laundering is not more cash, its deposited (cleaned) money.

Schall 02 said:

---

aggieforester05 said:

---

Mas89 said:

---

Fishin Texas Aggie 05 said:

---

Going to Mexico

Ive heard rumors of it also being involved with the drug trade but they are headed south

---

I've always wondered how many of those towed vehicles are stuffed with cash from U.S. drug sales.
How many hundreds could be put inside the engine, transmission, rear end if hollowed out?

---

Maybe they use the drug money to when pay cash for the cars here and then sell them when they get to Mexico to turn it back into cash. Pretty simple money laundering scheme that also prevents cash from being seized at the border. If less than $10K and purchased from individuals there's probably little to no chance of the sales ever being reported to any authority.

---

The goal of money laundering is not more cash, its deposited (cleaned) money.

---

Yes and when they sell that car in Mexico that's what they get.

I don't think this has anything to do with drugs. It's just people taking stuff that is expensive enough new to buy broken or used here, fix it up a bit, and sell for profit in Mexico.

I've been in a salvage yard near DFW before and heard them call in and say this is Paco. I'll be there Friday and need 5 chevy truck transmissions. Then they hit the pawn shops and buy up 10 bicycles at a time, etc.

southernskies said:

---

I always thought that these people buy jalopies and then drive them across the border to resell. Lately I've been seeing them stuffed with a bunch of junk inside of them.

I was driving I-10 east near Ozona this weekend and saw about 7 cars all pulling at least two "in-tow" behind each. Junk stuffed to the roof inside of each as well. This is a full blown operation! And what are they doing heading east? They should be heading south!

---

That was Californians moving out of state.

The amount of cash from the drug trade is waaaaay too high for a couple of 1990 Honda's to be relevant.

As a couple of posters mentioned, these are bought cheap, driven across, and used for several years. They're easier to repair, (or strip for parts) than many of the newer cars with 18 computers.

A very normal sight on I-37, 281, and 77.

We just missed a roll over on 37 one weekend coming back from Port A, his third tow vehicle looked like it had a blow out or axle issue and caused the rest of his "train" to wobble off into the median and rolled. As we were driving north, he was crawling out the window, looked fine physically but I'm sure in a lot of shock. Garage sale stuff all over the place and two of his convoy mates were pulling over to help along with a couple of other samaritans.

aggieforester05 said:

---

Mas89 said:

---

Fishin Texas Aggie 05 said:

---

Going to Mexico

Ive heard rumors of it also being involved with the drug trade but they are headed south

---

I've always wondered how many of those towed vehicles are stuffed with cash from U.S. drug sales.
How many hundreds could be put inside the engine, transmission, rear end if hollowed out?

---

Maybe they use the drug money to when pay cash for the cars here and then sell them when they get to Mexico to turn it back into cash. Pretty simple money laundering scheme that also prevents cash from being seized at the border. If less than $10K and purchased from individuals there's probably little to no chance of the sales ever being reported to any authority.

---

I'm not sure if you've seen the quality of the cars in the caravans, but it would take ALOT of them to have any meaningful impact.

Guy I worked with sold on old Mazda truck to a guy who does this. He received a postcard saying the truck had made it to Costa Rica.

They will drive an old vehicle like that for another 20 years.

Car trafficking....oh the irony.

southernskies said:

---

You would think that after a few runs and some money saved up, that they would just buy a dually and a car hauling double decker trailer

---

Large pickups and trailers are extremely prized by cartels. You do not want to be taking them across on a regular basis. We shifted our fleet small pickups and put tons of logos all over them to cut down on car jacking. It's working.

maverick12 said:

---

aggieforester05 said:

---

Mas89 said:

---

Fishin Texas Aggie 05 said:

---

Going to Mexico

Ive heard rumors of it also being involved with the drug trade but they are headed south

---

I've always wondered how many of those towed vehicles are stuffed with cash from U.S. drug sales.
How many hundreds could be put inside the engine, transmission, rear end if hollowed out?

---

Maybe they use the drug money to when pay cash for the cars here and then sell them when they get to Mexico to turn it back into cash. Pretty simple money laundering scheme that also prevents cash from being seized at the border. If less than $10K and purchased from individuals there's probably little to no chance of the sales ever being reported to any authority.

---

I'm not sure if you've seen the quality of the cars in the caravans, but it would take ALOT of them to have any meaningful impact.

---

Just a thought, but you're probably right. I just thought it would be an easy way to get $20K - $30K per driver over the board without risk and clean the money for very little cost at the same time. Probably tons of people willing to put in the wheel time for little pay.

When I worked just outside of Sinton, I was always amazed at how many cars a Mazda, Ram 50 or Yugo could tow. You would think an old school Chevy minivan was a dually.

Fishin Texas Aggie 05 said:

---

Going to Mexico

Ive heard rumors of it also being involved with the drug trade but they are headed south

---

Got to launder that money some how, and you need an excuse for people going back and forth across the boarder.

The worst wreck I've ever seen happen in real-time involved a vehicle caravan between Tuscaloosa and Meridian, MS. It was bad - the worst injured of the lot was a lady that was at least 8 mos pregnant. I stopped and cleared all the suitcases and crap that came out of the vehicles so we could clear traffic to get emergency vehicles through. Ever since I give them a wide berth.

southernskies said:

---

I always thought that these people buy jalopies and then drive them across the border to resell. Lately I've been seeing them stuffed with a bunch of junk inside of them.

I was driving I-10 east near Ozona this weekend and saw about 7 cars all pulling at least two "in-tow" behind each. Junk stuffed to the roof inside of each as well. This is a full blown operation! And what are they doing heading east? They should be heading south!

---

Transmigrantes(sp?) is the term we used in S. Texas on the Hwy 59/77/281 corridors. Most all are headed to a Central America destination. Saw several last weekend on I-20 in N.E. Texas coming from Louisiana.

Won't be long under Biden that those car trains are heading north out of Mexico!!!