Bill Segarra, left, of the Drug Enforcement Agency's St. Louis office, and U.S. Attorney Edward L. Dowd presented checks Wednesday as shares of confiscated drug money to Col. Weldon Wilhoit, Missouri Highway Patrol; Leadington Police Chief Cletus Wakefield, vice president of the Mineral Area Drug Task Force; and Sgt. Kevin Glaser, coordinator of the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force.

More than $750,000 seized in Southeast Missouri as part of a drug investigation was distributed Wednesday to area and state law enforcement agencies to be used as part of their continuing efforts to fight illegal drugs in the region.

U.S. Attorney Edward L Dowd Jr. was in Cape Girardeau Wednesday to make the presentation to representatives from the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force, the Mineral Area Drug Task Force and the Missouri Highway Patrol.

Dowd's office initiated forfeiture actions with regard to the money, alleging that it represented illegal proceeds from trafficking in marijuana.

The money -- $757,250.25 or roughly 75 percent of $1,010,270 confiscated in New Madrid County four years ago -- was given to the law enforcement agencies because of the roles each agency played in the money's seizure. The remaining $253,019.80 will go the federal Drug Enforcement Agency.

Sharing the money with the different agencies was a direct result of the cooperative effort in confiscating the money, Dowd said.

Speaking for the law enforcement agencies, Col. Weldon Wilhoit, superintendent of the Missouri Highway Patrol, said that the money given to the agencies would go right back out to fight drugs in the region and state.

"The money gained illegally through the sale of drugs will now be used to fight drugs," Wilhoit said.

Seized from the fender wells and a storage compartment of a 1994 Chevrolet Lumina van along Interstate 55 in New Madrid County April 22, 1994, the money represents one of the largest cash seizures in state history, Dowd said.

After receiving a tip that the van would be in the area, the DEA followed the van from Illinois into Missouri, where it was stopped in New Madrid County. Assisting in the seizure were members of the two drug task forces and the highway patrol.

Investigators found the money wrapped in cellophane and duct tape and stashed in the fender wells and in a concealed compartment behind the back seat. The money ranged in denominations from $10 to $100 bills.

"I think they underestimated how much space it takes to hide a million dollars," said Sgt. Kevin Glaser of the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force, who showed pictures of the van and the money at Wednesday's presentation.

Glaser represented the SEMO Drug Task Force at the presentation. The task force received $201,933.40.

Wilhoit accepted a check for $454,350.15 on behalf of the highway patrol. Accepting a check for $100,966.70 was Chief Cletus Wakefield of the Leadington Police Department and vice-president of the Mineral Area Drug Task Force.

Dowd said that the funds were divided on the basis of what each agency had done in the investigation. The U.S. attorney's office uses a formula to figure the division.