DebbieS

Why did TSA turn Japan's Britney Spears' mom to DEA for carrying $400000 in carry-on?
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive...62hikaru1.html

Are they legally obligated to do so? (or even have the legal authority?)

GUWonder

Export/import of more than $10,000 is to be declared to Customs. DHS shares that information with other agencies. This, however, is another matter because it's domestic flights.

For domestic flights, TSA often reports large cash amounts to the DEA, in anticipation of getting a share of the money, or otherwise rewarded as being part of a "big catch". DHS, TSA, DEA and a whole bunch of other government agencies have this retarded mentality that large amounts of cash = drugs or some other crime.

Personally, I don't think the TSA should be doing such things, especially not in relation to cash.

This is not the first time the TSA has done this. I too am curious if these things have hit the federal courts, since TSA is acting like law enforcement's net in a fishing expedition when it does such things.

I'd like to see some court cases about such kinds of fishing expeditions. Unfortunately, government seizure of cash can put a cramp in one's legal options since the money to pursue that option is held by the government and often all the money that person has. I hope this woman has the financial resources and WILL to pursue the matter all the way up the court system.

justageek

If you look at the complaint at the bottom of the page, this is yet another case where we (the "United States of America") are suing money ("$421,489.44 in United States Currency More or Less, and All Proceeds Traceable Thereto.") So bizarre.

TierFlyer

Or, you know, in catching criminals.

I asked a lawyer friend (ex-DA, now does real estate:-) and she said that the "in plain sight" rule applies to admissability and that the TSA has the same right as any citizen/organization to alert law enforcement to possible violations. (Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV, so YMMV)

Because the 'normal' frequent flyer carries tens of thousands of used bills taped to their legs all the time. (Recent arrest in RDU, no joke) So much more convienent than an ATM card.

Superguy

Since when is carrying a lot of money on one's person criminal? While it could be a flag of drug running, absent finding any drugs or any outstanding warrants, it shouldn't be a big deal.

There are people who carry a lot of cash to Vegas.

schwarm

Wow. The TSA is making me feel sympathy for a horrible show-biz mother. Good effort. (What's the Japanese equivalent of "trailer trash?")

BTW, how much drugs can one buy for 44 cents. And, did the dogs "alert" to those last 4 pennies?

valve bouncer

Apparently this happened in March and the money has already been returned.

GUWonder

Cash = criminal?

Why even bring up "criminals" in this matter, when it appear that the bulk of the cash was returned, something that usually does not happen when the proceeds are determined to be criminal proceeds? Another example of the IMAGINATION of someone with a "big catch" mentality.

DebbieS

The amount that the DEA wanted was "$421,489.44"
which is kind of amusing to me.

What's the deal with the last $0.44? Was that just her pocket change? Or are drug dealers(alleged) now counting nickels and dimes? "your 2 ounces of pot is $29.99, or $32.47 after tax"

GUWonder

It's typical government money grab done by impoverished thinkers who think cash=criminal . They go for it all, when they go for it.

The proxy war on cash was done in the name of the war on drugs. Now it's done in the name of the war on terror too.

DebbieS

War on drugs.... whatever happened to that old war? Which side won? .....

Doppy

Having money isn't a crime. It's the American Dream, isn't it?

Besides, the TSA's mission isn't to catch criminals, it's to protect aviation security. Every minute of attention spent on finding people who have "too much" money is a minute that is taken away from finding guns and bombs. Tests consistently show that the TSA is no better at catching guns and bombs than the private airport screeners used to be. In other words, they absolutely cannot afford to divert any attention from that primary mission.

If a plane blows up because these guys were distracted with looking for people with "too much" money, I'm not going to be too sympathetic. Perhaps you're willing to accept greater risk to your life to find people with "too much" money, but I'm not.

bordeauxboy

This is a game that has been played many times, where the government finds someone with a lot of cash - no real reason to believe it involves breaking the law - that looks to be unworldly and lacking resources to fight back, and then tries to take it away. Not just the TSA, but more often small law enforcement agencies in southwestern states; there is just too much profit in it for them to resist the temptation. It usually involves immigrants from countries where banks are not too trustworthy (heck, I'm an American MBA and don't really trust banks ). And of course, you get around the small constitutional problem of taking someone's property without due process of law by claiming the property is a separate entity.

In this case, they went up against a person with the resources to fight back; but she did appear an easy target at first glance .

p1cunnin

The money was all bills... US, Canadian and Australian. The odd number was due to the exchange rate.

We can debate the right of TSA to notify DEA, but any cash transaction of more than $10,000 gets reported. If you go and buy a car in cash, the car dealer has to report that. The intent is to prevent laundering of funds. If you deposit $10,000 in cash, the bank has to report it (this is sometimes a major hassle for small retail businesses when they have a good weekend of sales). There is the fundamental issue of whether or not the TSA should drop a dime on this, but the reality is that the screener probably saw this huge dense mass on the x-ray and needed it checked.

The part that kinda bugs me is where DEA had a drug sniffing dog check out the cash. The dog alerted. DUH! I've seen numerous studies where testing found most $20 and greater denomination currency was loaded with traces of drugs. Bundle up 4000+ $100 bills and I'm reasonably certain you could get high sticking your head in the bag. I'm amazed with that knowledge that courts are still finding a dog alerting to the cash to be probable cause for seizure.

entropy

because they are SOOOO good at that...