CLAREMORE — Craig County Sheriff Jimmy Sooter and Undersheriff B.J. Floyd had been waiting for the day more than $900,000 seized in a traffic stop would be released to their department.

That day came Wednesday when Rogers County District Attorney Gene Haynes presented Sooter’s office with a check for $402,000 — 40 percent of the seized money, plus interest.

“We’re kind of excited,” Sooter said at the Rogers County Courthouse Wednesday morning. “This is more money than was in our entire budget when I took office in 2001.”

The entire amount released from the Craig County treasurer was just more than $1 million after earning nearly $100,000 in interest over a 39-month period. Twenty percent of the seized and forfeited money went to Haynes’ drug fund and will be used for the 12th Judicial Drug Task Force and supplement assistant district attorneys’ salaries who prosecute drug cases. The remaining 40 percent — another $402,000 — was given to the Vinita Police Department for their part in the seizure.

Around $918,000 was seized during a traffic stop in December 2006 when Craig County deputies pulled over a van that failed to use a turn signal when switching lanes. The driver of the van did not have a driver’s license and told the deputy he had been paid to drive the van to California. The passenger was an illegal alien.

“They pulled out of the convenience store and went north but they should’ve went south,” Sooter said. “Then they hesitated before they changed lanes and that’s what got them stopped.”

After making the stop, Sooter said the deputies asked for the Vinita Police Department’s K-9 unit to assist.

“The K-9 unit was listening to our radio traffic and was already almost there when the deputy called in and asked for him to assist,” Sooter said. “Then when the dog hit on the van for drugs, the deputies searched it.”

During the search, Sooter said deputies found money hidden inside toys. So the van was taken to a garage to be thoroughly searched.

“You wouldn’t believe where this money was,” Sooter said. “We found it stuffed inside of toy semi-trucks, helicopters, drums. Each time we’d open a toy and find money, the deputies would say, ‘Wooo!’”

Although no drugs were found inside the van, Sooter said there was drug residue on the cash which caused the dog to hit on the vehicle. Whomever packed the cash inside the toys was also trying to disguise the smell of drug residue.

“The cash was covered in toothpaste to try and disguise the smell of the drug residue, then wrapped in aluminum foil and put in air tight plastic bags,” Sooter said. “Those bags were stuffed inside the toys.”

According to Haynes, a majority of cash that is made from drug transactions has traces of drug residue on it.

Sooter agreed: “We thought to shake the money and sure enough, there were traces of drugs that came off the cash.”

“When the Oklahoma Highway Patrol seizes money, they will shake it and find traces of drugs too,” Haynes added.Once all the cash was found and collected, Sooter said his office got together with the Vinita Police Department and started counting.

“It was about 3 or 4 in the morning when we decided we couldn’t get it all counted,” Sooter said. “So we took it to the Turnpike headquarters to use the money counting machine but it wouldn’t count it because it was too sticky from the toothpaste.

“Then we took it to the bank the next morning and the girls counted it 12 or 15 times and came up with $916,000 and some change.”

There was a question as to whether some of the money was counterfeit, so Sooter sent the money to “the Feds” for verification.

“When they were counting it, they found $2,000 more than the bank because it was stuck together,” he said. “In all of that money, they only found $100 that was counterfeit.”

Needless to say, this is the largest amount of money seized by the sheriff’s office. But it’s not the first time they have seized money.

“Most of our seizures, if we get $3,000 we’re excited,” Floyd said.

Sooter says his office can use the $402,000 for “just about anything,” but he has some specific items in mind that will be purchased or paid off.

“Well we’re going to get an electronic fingerprinting machine for the jail,” Sooter said. “That’s around $25,000. And maybe some tracking devices for the patrol cars so we know where they are and can help if necessary. We have some bills that need paid too.

“Our fiscal year ends in July and I’ve never had an opportunity to not worry about the budget in the last three months of the fiscal year. This year, I won’t have to worry.”