Originally Posted by SgtScott31

The $10k mark is misconstrued by TSA personnel. While the IRS may possibly tax amounts over $10k that leaves the US, since we have no outbound international flights where I work, the $10k mark is not significant.



It is left up to a federal judge when currency is confiscated. That is, if the person even wants to contest the seizure, which they rarely do. It's not there's to begin with. They're just the mule carrying it to buy the drugs.



Ask the DEA on the federal laws regarding money seizures. I'm sure they're out there if you do the appropriate searches. I detain the person for DEA and let them take over.



sp = reasonable "suspicion." This is how the law works nationally. With that said, I will reinforce KTW's post. Compared to the amount of people that come through the checkpoint with a significant amount of money, the numbers are small to those who have it confiscated versus those who don't. For those who have money confiscated, a simple conversation will easily tell the story. Like I said in my first post, these folks expect the money to be confiscated. And they will try again down the road if it is.



I never disagreed that TSA should pay specific attention to items that could be a threat to an aircraft, but to reverse the question, where do you think the line should be drawn? My opinion, if a TSO is doing a standard bag search and discovers contraband, whether a brick of cocaine or 1000 pictures of child pornography, I don't expect them to turn a blind eye to it (as some of you astoundingly do) and never will. If you were the parents of those children in the pictures, you may have a different viewpoint. These types of searches and discoveries have been going on since the inception of FAA rules about flying commercially. There will always be bag searches and searches of persons in order to gain entry to a commercial aircraft. If something else is discovered during this search, while not even a direct threat to the aircraft, it's going to be reported. I will never see this as any type of violation of Constitutional rights. Every person in this country knows what happens at security checkpoints at airports. Every person knows they have a right to use some other form of transportation if they want to carry something with them that is prohibited or illegal. It's a consensual search period. While some of the policies are unnecessary to say the least, I have yet to see anything that indicates "police states" are being created and checkpoints will pour out onto our streets. Outside the checkpoint, I still need reasonable suspicion to stop a vehicle or terry frisk a person; and I still need probable cause to search a vehicle or person and/or make an arrest. This has not changed.



I have never been called to the checkpoint about the Sun - Sat pill cases. We have a toll-free number to call for pill identification and/or appropriate books to identify pills. If a couple of pills are rolled up in a baggie and/or artfully concealed, then yes, we are normally called. People who have legal or prescribed pills do not hide them when coming through security. It is a call by call scenario, and it is pretty obvious who carries the Sun - Sat pills and who legitimately has any type of drugs. We are rarely called on these unless it is a blatant illegal drug (i.e. marijuana, white powder).



Question and answer. Believe it or not those that seize the money give the person every opportunity to prove that it is legitimate. Problem is, they can't.