The cash smelled like pot, so the feds kept it

Star Tribune ^ | 06/03/2014 | James Eli Shiffer

[Responsibility2nd]

Someone had tipped off federal agents that a California man with a large quantity of drug money would soon be boarding a flight from Minnesota to Arizona. They spotted him at gate H-7 in the Humphrey Terminal of Minneapolis-St. Paul International and let loose a "certified narcotics dog." The dog showed strong olfactory interest in two of the man's three pieces of luggage. So the feds seized those two bags and let the man get on the plane to Phoenix.

They knew what they might find in the two bags because the man had already told them that he had a large quantity of cash from his bingo business. The feds found no drugs, but $138,121 that - literally - smelled like marijuana, according to court records.

[Responsibility2nd]

The article goes on to say the man was not charged and he did not file a claim to have the cash returned.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

These days, the only differences between LEOs and an ordinary street gang are government sponsorship and immunity from prosecution.

[A CA Guy]

You are not allowed (I think) to carry more than 10k per person. Someone like this has to show where the money came from to get it back, they can't claim to have had it in the mattress for 20 years. Has to show the bank accounts he owned and took this money from to prove it was legit I think.
Drug money or seen as tax evasion I guess.

[rawcatslyentist]

I smell merryjewanna! Kiss your rights goodbye!

Enjoy your police state!

[Wolfie]

Land of the Free, after all.

[TheThirdRuffian]

“I guess”

Heck of a level of proof to steal $138K.

[Rebelbase]

Is that an airline/gov’t rule?

If not it’s complete crap.

[JRandomFreeper]

And the snappy uniforms.

/johnny

[ConservingFreedom]

90 percent of U.S. bills carry traces of cocaine - http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/08/14/cocaine.traces.money/

[Smokin' Joe]

Only $138,121.00?

Seems like a strange amount.

I wonder how much there really was and where the rest of it went.

[A CA Guy]

It's a rule regarding cash being transported in the USA.

I'm sure there is some similarities in place to the ground and air rules.

In general, if you want to carry 50k in cash, maybe bring a copy of the withdrawal slips and bank statements or you may lose the cash.

I don't know if the limit is 10k now, but it was.

[JRandomFreeper]

I've carried more than $10k cash lots of times. Of course, I was armed, and NO thief was going to take it from me, uniform or not.

I don't have bank accounts....

/johnny

[Kartographer]

"These days, the only differences between LEOs and an ordinary street gang are government sponsorship and immunity from prosecution."

Also in general a Street Gang won't kill you family dog.

[MaxMax]

When they take all your money how can you pay to get it back? Catch 22 theft.
The Feds are stealing if they keep it without any criminal charges.

All money has "stuff" on it. I got tired of using sanitizer so now I just
use Windex with Ammonia in it.

[Flag_This]

"The article goes on to say the man was not charged..."

Guilty enough to seize his cash, but apparently not guilty enough to try and stop from trafficking.

[PieterCasparzen]

Our government is lead by criminals.

[gaijin]

Civil forfeiture gives cops “skin in the game” —incentive.

And THAT means that PROPERTY, not behavior, becomes the enforcement target.

There was a case from Southern California in which the cops killed the owner of a large plot of land they coveted, simply on the claim of ONE snitch that he had caught sight of ONE pot plant on ONE helicopter flight over the land in question.

Presto, warrant, dynamic entry, shot innocent owner dead, seized land.

This was about 15 years ago, a very egregious case.

[PieterCasparzen]

No law limiting how much cash you can carry is Constitutional.

Let alone moral.

Our government leadership is criminal. CRIMINAL.

They makes laws that make EVERYONE guilty of something according to their illegitimate laws.

[Uncle Miltie]

Cops NEVER enforce the law against actual criminals.

Cops ALWAYS jack up average citizens attempting to legally go about their day.

That is my experience and observation of the cops after 52 years.

[Ken H]

I wonder how many of these seizures are actually payoffs to law enforcement. Legalized bribery, if you will.