Police in Revelstoke seized nearly $2 million during a traffic stop on Highway 1 last week.

RCMP Traffic Services Cpl. Mike Halskov says on Sept. 8, a vehicle heading westbound was pulled over 10 kilometres east of Revelstoke, after a report of erratic driving.

He says police seized the vehicle and nearly $1.9 million, something he says police don’t see everyday.

“No we certainly don’t. We do make traffic stops out there with significant cash seizures, but to my knowledge this is the largest cash seizure as a result of a traffic stop in British Columbia that I’m aware of. Definitely significant, hopefully will put a dent in some organized criminal activity.”

Halskov says both occupants of the vehicle, who were from Atlantic Canada, were arrested, and were later released with a promise to appear in court.

He says the vehicle was likely headed for the Lower Mainland before the traffic stop.

“This is a reminder to motorists that we all have a role to play to keep our highways and communities safe from individuals who may be engaged in criminal activity. In this case, police were alerted to the manner in which someone was driving, then acted on that information. Rather than doing the easy thing and simply issue a ticket, the officers employed their investigative skills and disrupted criminal activity,” Halskov says.

He points out if the investigation concludes that money was obtained as proceeds of crime, it gets forfeited to the government through civil forfeiture.