[09/03/02]The amount of money seized by Vicksburg Police a week ago is $3,000 greater than first believed, city strategic planner Paul Rogers says.

The money, originally counted as $629,555, has been recounted as $632,555, Rogers said late Friday. It was seized from the Chevrolet pickup of a Hobbs, N.M., man who was stopped for driving erratically at 5:47 p.m. Aug. 26 on Interstate 20 West near Indiana Avenue.

Police K-9 officer Bo McLeod made the stop, and the dog riding with him apparently detected a residual smell of narcotics in the truck driven by Michael Gregory, 57, Vicksburg Police Chief Tommy Moffett said.

About $15,000 was found under the hood of the truck and, after the truck was towed and partially disassembled by city workers, $617,555 in $50 and $100 bills was found in watertight packaging in the gas tank.

Gregory was held briefly by police and released after paying a $65 ticket for careless driving. The truck remained seized this morning, Deputy Police Chief Richard O’Bannon said.

Moffett said the city would try to keep as much of the money as possible.

The money was deposited in a bank account pending court proceedings, Rogers said. Any money the city is allowed to keep would go to the police department, Rogers said. The police department’s annual budget is about $7 million.

Both Mississippi and federal laws relate to how authorities are to handle seized or forfeited property in such situations, O’Bannon said.

The deputy chief said police have shared the information they have on the matter with federal authorities.

“They have more money and people than we do to investigate things like this,” O’Bannon said.

Local police would not necessarily be informed if charges are filed against Gregory or the money is linked to drugs, O’Bannon said.

Moffett said this morning through a spokesman that no further developments in the matter were reported, and city attorney Nancy Thomas was unavailable this morning.