Suitcases Full of Cash On Plane (New Mexico)

ABQ journal ^ | 12/5/03

[cyborg]

Darn Vicente Fox can't buy another gated estate.

[DesertDreamer]

Probably drug money destined for the bank account of the DNC Chair, The Honorable Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico. ::eyeroll::

[squidly]

It's messed up that we live in a society where the authorities automatically go after a suitcase full of cash, regardless of whether it is known to be involved in anything illegal. I'm wondering what the threshold of suspicion is, that is, how much cash can I carry without being detained by the gendarmes on suspicion of drug smuggling?

[GoodThinking]

Right on, Buddy. The ironic thing is that this money probably came straight from Rush Limbaugh's pockets.

[Between the Lines]

A drug-sniffing dog from the State Motor Transportation Department was brought to the scene to search the aircraft, Garcia said. He said the dog "hit on the plane's front cargo compartment," directly behind the engine. Another suitcase filled with cellophane-wrapped cash was discovered in the front cargo area. Garcia said no narcotics were found on board the airplane or in either of the suitcases. However, he said the suitcases could have residual narcotics on them, which would alert the drug-sniffing dog.

Do you get the feeling they train these dogs to sniff out money just so they can say it is drug money?

I feel so much safer now that it is a crime to carry large amounts of cash. < /sarcasm >

[Coroner]

Good thinking started on 10/26/2003. ZOTTTTTTT!!!

[LibWhacker]

. . . weighed more than 300 pounds . . .

Obviously small bills, lots of ones. Fifty thousand $20s wouldn't weigh anywhere close to 300 pounds. Never heard of a big time drug dealer conducting his transactions in one dollar bills. Give Rana back the money from his laundromat biz and leave the poor man alone!

[tbird1]

I carried a million dollars in cash in the back of my car
one time. (I notified the Police and asked for an escort)
No problems at all.
tbird1

[Ramius]

Huh?

[CindyDawg]

Well in my case my money would have been in my bag, which I would have been carrying (I carry a big purse:') and there would have been a fight to get it but they would not have had any doubt about who it belonged to.

[VeniVidiVici]

Nobody onboard the aircraft claimed it was theirs.

I'm sure that if someone, anyone, would step forward and claim the cash, the Feds would love to speak to them and give them their money.

Until then, unfortunately, it must remain in the custody of the state for safekeeping. We can't have the wrong people get it, you know?

[Ramius]

I carried about 600K in bearer bonds to a bank once. I let them know what was coming and that when I got there I was gonna be armed for bear. They didn't have a problem with it.

[okie01]

"It's messed up that we live in a society where the authorities automatically go after a suitcase full of cash, regardless of whether it is known to be involved in anything illegal."

Does give one cause to wonder, though:

1. Just how did either or both of these schlubs amass all this cash?

2. Or, alternatively, just how did two suitcases full of swag find their way onto this plane full of innocents?

In either event, one would have probable cause to suspect foul play was involved, I suppose. Unless Rana or Folks one had just emptied his mattress...

[texastoo]

Last week in Texas a truck carying frozen dinner roles was caught heading to Mexico with over $5,000,000. It took the authorities 12 hours to count.

The suit case weighed 300 pounds and contained over $1,000,000. It makes you wonder what denominations this money is in.

Agree, times are hard for V. Fox. The remittances may be a little less this month.

[squidly]

I'm sure that if someone, anyone, would step forward and claim the cash

They should have give me a ring.

[ocean]

Its obvious that Rush had to pay for his drugs.

[LibWhacker]

Oops . . . Seems I dropped a zero while doing my arithmetic. Fifty thousand dollars in $20 bills might very well weigh 300 lbs! Lock him up and throw away the key! </sarcasm>

[Ramius]

It's not a crime to carry lots of cash. It is a crime however to smuggle proceeds of illegal transactions. Seems to me that sufficient reasonable suspicion was developed in this case.

[cyborg]

A hibernating troll like Pedantic Lady perhaps? hmm....