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DONNA - Stacks of DVDs loaded in a van and truck. It is too many to count and overflowing the cargo area. Authorities say the disks were created to profit drug cartels.
Hidalgo County Constable and Sheriff's deputies raided a flea market off Business 83 and Val Verde Road in Donna.
No one was arrested. The sellers ran away. Authority’s say those selling the merchandise were likely here illegally. They are allegedly sending the profit across the border.
"A lot of these are from the drug cartels in Mexico. They have these individuals selling the tapes. They're the ones that are profiting," said Constable Celestino Avila, Precinct One.
Authorities estimate $70 thousand worth of pirated movies was taken off the market.
"You can pick these up right away and before you know it they'll be out again," said Avila.
We saw that, first-hand. Two hours later: another stand in business. When we showed up, people spread out.
"It doesn't matter because they're not ours. I don't know where the owner is," said Martha Lopez, who was standing nearby.
Lopez told us she was just shopping. She wanted to get her daughter a new movie.
We told shopper Sara Martinez what happened, what the constable said, and where he says the money is going.
"Everything is frightening at this time. I guess you just have to be on the lookout," said Martinez.
Then, we noticed it. People were on the lookout. They were looking at us. There were about seven men, watching what we were doing.
"Why you want me? Why out of everybody?" said one man we approached.
We started to leave. Then, more people came. This time to clean up the table.
When we tried to follow them, we had a familiar interruption. This time, she wasn't friendly.
"You don't have to follow me. They're not his. They’re not mine. They belong to the owner, but the owner isn't coming," said Lopez.
Lopez says people were trying to steal the merchandise. She didn't want the owner to get upset. She wouldn't tell us who the owner was.
Constable Avila wants to find out where the bootlegged DVDs originate.
"We'll be hitting these locations a little more frequently," said Avila.
He says he wants to stop the flow of cash to the cartel.