It always amazes me when people get busted for whatever illegal stash they are harbouring. Like, there must have been some sort of tip off to get these two siblings into such deep trouble.

They are facing multiple drug charges after the police seized a record $24 million in narcotics. The Telegraph continues…

Luis Hernandez-Gonzalez stashed bundles of $100 bills inside five-gallon buckets hidden in a secret compartment in his plush home, Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) say.

The 44-year-old and his sister Salma Hernandez are accused of using their gardening business ‘The Blossom Experience’, which sells equipment for indoor gardening, to cover-up a major marijuana growing operation.

How great? I once knew a gardening crew in Ireland who were fired after they were caught growing the sweetest Mary Jane in the land.

Well, the Miami police department didn’t think it was great, other than the fact that it’s the largest bust in Miami history. The department reported that:

Acting on information received from the DEA … MDPD Narcotics detectives obtained a search warrant for the business of Hernandez-Gonzalez.

Once inside the business, they discovered a safe with large sums of money.  The investigation then led detectives to the residence of Hernandez-Gonzalez.

A secondary search warrant was executed at the residence where detectives discovered sealed packages of money stored in buckets concealed within the walls.  A high powered automatic weapon along with several packages of steroids were also found.

The bust happened in a gated community in the upmarket neighbourhood of Miami Lake, and the cash was found hidden inside an attic compartment initially covered by a statuette of Saint Lazarus.

The fake wall:

Barrels of cash:

The motherlode:

Charges include:

Luis Hernandez-Gonzalez: money laundering, cannabis trafficking, conspire to traffic cannabis, unlawful use of communication, possession of cannabis, weapon/possession while committing an offence and possession of place/purpose of trafficking.

Salma Hernandez: possession of place/purpose of trafficking (marijuana), possession of place/purpose of trafficking/conspiracy (marijuana).

While that amount of cash may be something made of dreams and illegal solicitations, you can go the legal route of winning some with the international lottery.

In fact, tonight there’s the MegaMillions for $415 million. Imagine that in dollar bills. Get your ticket HERE.

[source: telegraph&huffingtonpost]