More "It must be drug money!" cash seizure...

[Manedwolf]

The way this article is worded disturbs me. "He's a very aggressive deputy!"

Kimball County seizes $69,040 in traffic stop
BY ELIZABETH AHLIN
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Christmas came early last year for a new Kimball County Sheriff's deputy.

Deputy Chris Engel, 25, had been on the job just two weeks when a routine traffic stop Dec. 20 turned into the biggest cash seizure the Nebraska county has ever seen.

Engel pulled over a Salt Lake City, Utah, resident whom he suspected of speeding on Interstate 80 near the town of Kimball.

The driver's story didn't add up, Engel said, so he did a little more investigating. In the end, $69,040 in cash was taken from the car. Officials suspect the money is connected to a drug-trafficking operation, he said.

The driver was not arrested  or even ticketed for going 10 mph over the 75 mph speed limit. (He was warned.) But the investigation is ongoing, Engel said. The Nebraska State Patrol and the Drug Enforcement Agency are assisting in the investigation.

It was the first big cash seizure Kimball County has seen, said Sheriff Tim Hanson. With Interstate 80 running through the Panhandle county, he believes there are ample opportunities to make a dent in drug operations. But in such a sparsely populated county with few resources, it has been difficult to devote deputies' time to patrolling the Interstate, he said.

"Chris is a very aggressive young deputy," Hanson said.

Investigators don't know if they will be able to connect the money to a drug operation, Hanson said, but the important work already has been done.

"The big thing is he grabbed 69 (thousand dollars) and took it away from them," Hanson said of the money seized. "That's going right straight to the heart of the matter."

Yeah. That's...all that matters. No due process...but they took the guy's cash!

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10231335

[HankB]

If I were an LEO, I wouldn't be anxious to "confiscate" cash when I wasn't charging anyone with a crime . . . I might do it to the wrong person, someone who wasn't guilty of any crime.

That would make me a common thief, but worse, it could provoke my victim - my innocent victim - to come hunting for me . . . or my family.

[MrRezister]

Whatsamatta youse guys?  Dontcha know that cash belongs to the .gov by default?  They should have arrested the guy for not using a bank account where the government can keep track of it's money.  I mean, who cares if he "broke a law".... he was acting suspicious!  So he might be a terrorist, he's just lucky we didn't have him locked away for a few years.

[Standing Wolf]

Well, yeah, but we're not a police state, because the guy wasn't ticketed for speeding.

[Tuco]

Police lie. (generalization)

How much did he really have? (sarcasm)

He took it because he could. (undeniable truth)

 

[K Frame]

Moving this to Round Table.

This is an item about a police action, not a political activity.

[tyme]

Well, yeah, but we're not a police state, because the guy wasn't ticketed for speeding.

Not technically ticketed, true, but I consider $69040 a pretty big fine.

[Dntsycnt]

How much cash are you allowed to carry on your person before it becomes probable "drug money"?

[Manedwolf]

How much cash are you allowed to carry on your person before it becomes probable "drug money"?

AFAIK, anything over $10,000 is "suspicious" and can be seized, but I wouldn't put it past some "aggressive deputies" to seize any amount over a thousand on your person.

[Ben]

I would guess there's a pretty big sliding scale based on appearance as well.

[CAnnoneer]

That's why the answer to "May I search your car?" should always be "No, thanks."

[roo_ster]

Damn straight.

There have been times I have carried in excess of $10k on my person.  Usually to make a car buy.

[Gewehr98]

There are lots of Cambodians in Rancho Cordova (we called it Rancho Cambodia) who don't trust banks.  Police should be looking to seize a lot of cash in that neighborhood.   

[Firethorn]

I would guess there's a pretty big sliding scale based on appearance as well.

IE White guy in a suit&tie can get away with $1Mil in a briefcase while the black or hispanic with his underwear showing because his pants are around his hips would have even $300 confiscated?

[Phantom Warrior]

It's stories like this that makes me want to try and figure out how I can make a living suing the government, particularly the police, for shady stuff like this after law school...

[Bogie]

Just remember - if the days of Unintended Consequences come to pass, karma will be a beyotch.

[never_retreat]

DING DING DING HankB wins the prize. One of these days the cops are going to grab the wrong persons money. There are people out there that don't fear the cops (or own enough of them)will get their money back one way or another. Weather they use brute force to reclaim the money, or just take it out of someone else. Until this happens I don't think the cops will change there foolish ways.
If they were such the criminal why were they released?

[Lee]

Investigators don't know if they will be able to connect the money to a drug operation, Hanson said, but the important work already has been done.

That is a real strange statement.  Is this part of the "getting money off the street" strategy? 

[Firethorn]

That is a real strange statement.  Is this part of the "getting money off the street" strategy? 

No, now they have funds for their annual BBQ party.  It's just that stopping drugs isn't part of their strategy.

Honestly enough, I figure that the higher ups in the drug business view this just as a cost of doing business, just like how they occasionally lose a big shipment to being intercepted and destroyed by the police.

The police get maybe 10% of the drugs, 1% of the money and boast about how much they're doing to get drugs off the street.

Meanwhile the dealers ship 111% of demand and write off the losses.  Figuratively speaking.

[Tuco]

The police get report maybe 10% of the drugs, 1% of the money

Fixed .

I'm feeling quite pessimistic this week.  I'll get over it.

Steve

[Fly320s]

Pessimist, huh?  Try this:

The police get maybe 10% of the drugs and money, but report 5%

[Firethorn]

Pessimist, huh?  Try this:

The police get maybe 10% of the drugs and money, but report 5%

In either case the drug lords save more in taxes by being illegitimate than what the police manage to get ahold of.

[Tecumseh]

Just another reason to end the war on some drugs.  It seems that we would be better off if we just legalized these drugs and allowed them to be sold at stores like alcohol.  I would be ok with government regulation on these drugs, though I still feel it is a useless compromise.

[Creeping Incrementalism]

Damn straight.

There have been times I have carried in excess of $10k on my person.  Usually to make a car buy.

A friend of mine in college also made money buying used cars that had been in accidents but were easy to fix, and then selling them to people from his place like he was just selling his old car.  Not completely honest, but not illegal.  He told me he had carried up to 50 or 60 Gs to car auctions, since it was much more convenient than checks.