Posted on 11/14/2011 9:49:40 AM PST by Battle Hymn of the Republic
The used Chrysler minivan came fully loaded, with power steering, foldaway seats, tinted windows -- and half a million dollars' worth of cocaine.
San Jose psychologist Charles Preston had no clue there was a cellophane-wrapped stash of "snow" hidden inside the frame when he bought the pristine-condition, 2008 van last year from Thrifty Car Sales in Santa Clara. True, the windows wouldn't roll down all the way. But he had no reason to suspect it was because the door panels were crammed with kilos of coke.
He found out 15 months later when he went to a mechanic to get his brakes checked, and immediately turned the contraband over to police.
Now, he's terrified a drug cartel still may be gunning for it.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
Which is why he went to the news about it.
1-When I became aware of a threat, I took “precautions”, irrespective of “paperwork”.
2-Even a cartel wouldn’t necessarily feel a need to “retalliate”, as they left no forwarding address, and his circumstance was that of a bystander.
Anyone can hide evidence on your property that can give you decades in prison. For some drugs, it can be a package the size of a silver dollar.
Imagine if this gentleman didn’t know about the coke for years and then had his car sniffed at a border or a random checkpoint. Even with is no other evidence, his life would be ruined. He would have to "prove his innocence" which is sometimes impossible and goes against one of the foundations of our justice system.
day-um, that would be a fine way to wreck one’s life...
Carfax check for this?
Yeah, despite the impression people get from the movies, cartels are businesses, and they make business decisions like write-offs, even if they don’t call it that. The profits on each successful cocaine shipment are so high, they can afford to lose many for every one that gets through. They don’t really care about losing a few shipments, except when someone steals from them, and then they have to send a message to keep the other criminals’ respect.
Going after this guy would be pointless retaliation with nothing to gain for the cost of a hit.
What wonders me is how the car got to the car lot in the first place.
Another reason the War On Drugs can't be won.
Anyone can hide evidence on your property that can give you decades in prison.
"Plaintiff Francisco Javier Rivera Agredano (Rivera) bought a 1987 Nissan Pathfinder, Vehicle Identification Number JN8HD16Y7HW029972 (vehicle), from the Department of the Treasury in a public auction following a Customs Service Federal Forfeiture Sale on September 5, 2001. [...] On January 24, 2002, Rivera and Calderon, business partners, were making a delivery on behalf of their printing company to a grocery store in the city of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. They traveled from the City of Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico to make the delivery. En route, they were stopped at a checkpoint known as El Sauzal. Mexican authorities discovered twenty-two packages of marijuana between the upholstered walls and body of the car. Plaintiffs were arrested and spent one year in Federal Prison in Mexico before they were declared innocent and released." - In the United States Court of Federal Claims, No. 05-608 C
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