Posted on 09/04/2010 9:09:34 AM PDT by One_Upmanship
YORK At least $1 million in cash was discovered inside a tractor-trailer Friday afternoon during a routine inspection along the turnpike.
Maine State Police said they found the stash of cash after detaining the driver and a passenger while they examined driver logs.
The driver, 35-year-old Jhon Rivera-Ramirez, was ultimately arrested for falsifying logs. He was later released on bail.
State police said Ramirez was traveling with a passenger, Jose Javier Perez, 46, who was not charged in the stop.
Police did not say where the men were coming from or where they were going. State Police Lt. Thomas Kelly said there was no other cargo inside the trailer.
"They were hauling cash," Kelly said. "That's all they were hauling."
Investigators from the State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit made the initial stop. Police said the rig is registered in Texas.
When officers inspected the back of the rig, they found an odd sight five gallon pails lined with pink bags and stuffed with bills of varying denominations.
Kelly said $1 million is only an estimate and probably a conservative one.
"It hasn't been counted yet," he said. "We're still early into the investigation."
It was, he said, the largest cash seizure in Maine's history.
By Friday night, Ramirez remained free on bail. Federal agents were expected to join the probe.
In recent years, the smuggling of bulk currency has become the preferred method for criminals to move illicit proceeds across our borders, according to Maine Public Safety Spokesman Stephen McCausland.
It is a crime to smuggle or attempt to smuggle over $10,000 in currency or monetary instruments into or out of the United States.
Released on bail? Yeah, like he’ll show up for a hearing. /sarcasm
Cash seized in the CONUS because of ????
Because it's there? What law prohibits carrying cash?
More government over-reach. Time to prune.
/johnny
These guys are idiots.
What you want is a well-dressed older gentleman driving a late model luxury car, and obeying the traffic laws. The police won’t look at him twice.
This is not a new thing, happened down here years ago. The county’s take was enough to build a new jail.
Just doing the jobs Americans refuse to do. Released on bail?
Either that or ship it UPS or Fed Ex.
Campaign contributions???
We are doomed when it becomes a crime to carry money.
Oh yeah out on bail...
Well we know he’ll show up in court...
After losing that money, he'll likely never be seen or heard from again. Little pieces dropped along the interstates.
Wonder if they were coming into Maine or going out?
You nailed it. Criminals are so stupid nowadays.
I used to work with a stoner...he went to Hawaii years ago and ran out of dope, so phoned somebody to send him some via airfreight - he made the TV news and everything when he went to collect his package.
Well, the ones they catch are. We don’t hear about the others.
Released on bail? How does that work? Did he get to use some of the $1 million plus to post it? /sarc
What happened to the truck? Presumably that was confiscated?
Did the county need a new jail or were they just looking to spend the money as fast as possible.
A new one from the ground up, one that would pass state and federal guidelines.
That was after the feds and the state took their cut.
Look for the union label,code pink wants bags back.
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