Police officers got a surprise when they pulled over a van and found it loaded with bags of cash, writes Jack Mara.

$1 million found in van during traffic stop

A motorist has been arrested after police discovered over $1 million in bags of cash hidden in his van.

Police have not said what the 36-year-old man, who has been charged with dealing with the proceeds of crime, was doing with all the money.

The man was stopped by officers from the Regional Enforcement Squad in Sefton in Sydney’s south-west yesterday, a police spokesman said this morning.

Officers conducting a vehicle stop and following inquires searched the van, finding a bag of $100 notes in the central console. A further check of the van uncovered three more bags in a hidden compartment in the rear.

The total haul came to $1,150,460 in cash and a mobile phone.

The man was arrested and charged at Bankstown police station. He was refused bail and is due to appear in Bankstown Local Court today.