Cops are seizing hundreds of millions of dollars from drivers
 

and bragging about it in chat rooms

This weekend, The Washington Post published a deeply reported look at "highway interdiction," a controversial tactic that has allowed police to seize hundreds of millions of dollars from motorists without formally charging anyone with a crime. Typically, police will stop a driver under suspicion of drug trafficking, seize their cash as evidence, and refuse to return it without a legal challenge. Only one in six seizures were challenged, typically because of the high cost of legal assistance.

But the legal justification is only part of the practice. As private consultants sought to expand the practice, they turned to surprisingly familiar methods, including an encrypted chat room where officers could brag about their latest hauls, share tactics, and spread private information about juicy targets passing through other jurisdictions. Known as the Black Asphalt Electronic Networking and Notification System, the chat room has over 25,000 members spread across the country, most of whom are law enforcement officers. Until recently, it was hosted at a DEA intelligence center, but has never received any official government oversight. Within the system, officers are encouraged to brag about particularly big hauls, and the member with the highest seizure total at the end of the year is dubbed a "Royal Knight."

In other words, it's Reddit for the highway interdiction, turning an otherwise sketchy practice into a game of online oneupmanship. If highway cops aren't encouraged to make seizures within their department, they can get that encouragement online, with plenty of other interdiction-happy cops cheering them on. And the encouragement works: seizures have more than tripled since 2000. Any dissenting voices, worried about the legal or moral implications of grabbing cash based on the thinnest tissue of reasonable suspicion, are kept out of the conversation entirely.

full article...

the law is out of control

it's not law, it's robbery!

How many of us have ever traveled with a 100k of cash? And why wouldn't you just say what it was for and get it back?

Ok the post has a more complete story and I saw this gem - "Half of the seizures were below $8,800."

so how are you going to buy a car from a private person now?

no one will take my cash.

seriously.

I read an article this weekend about a town in Missouri.... The pull everyone over for anything they can find and give them fines. If they can't pay them, they get more fines. The town was small like 10k people but had some five hundred thousand warrants out for failure to appear, failure to pay..... Insane.

I knew that civil fortiture laws were a bad idea when they were introduced in the 80s by Reagan. The abuses that I predicted then would happen are happening right on cue.


:(







.

they can take your shit :helpme

that's how those funny videos on Youtube start... :winkwink:

yup. :thumbsup

But seriously, how much cash do you have? Normal people use a bank etc.

I have a friend that buys tractor trailer loads of plants/trees for his nursery. Paying cash when his driver picks up the load is standard operating procedure. I leased commercial space to an antique furniture store, they take cash on their buying trips. Anytime I have purchased a car or motorcycle the seller wants cash.

I don't even take bank checks without making sure they clear before I sign a title as they can be fakes or have payment stopped. Cash in hand is getting more and more common in business transactions. Everyone is out to fuck someone and cash is the only way I do business when dealing with strangers.

How in fuck you need some legal challenge to get your monies back? And shouldn't there be some evidence about drug trafficking in the first place? At least significant amount of cash?

Lol.. :)

Sounds a bit fairytale. It averages per person 50 tickets. Okay, they pull the car over and start inspecting. For what they can charge to start with? Broken lights? And how much is the fine? Are they beggars or something? Either there is something seriously wrong with the people who live there, or they have some unbelievable bullshit laws and no one knows the feds phone number, or UN's, or something like that.

can't really comment on what small timers consider normal.

You shouldn't be traveling with that much cash. If you are you're probably up to something. If you don't, you have nothing to worry about. I don't know how some people can't understand this. These are good laws and are enforced appropriately.

If you travel with more than $500 - $1000 you're def shady and should be frisked and cavity searched.

/sarcasm

Depends on what you are doing. Plenty of people travel with cash for business.

Just recently I was carrying $4000 across the state to purchase a motorcycle. Had that been seized, I don't know how much money and time it would have cost to get that back, but I have to think it might not be worth it in the end.

Why should somebody have to prove why they have the money? The burden is on the police, not the civilian. Imagine how courtrooms would run if the accused were automatically deemed guilty.

When I lived up north, Black SUV's would sit on the side of the road and pull over cars and search them. They would rip them apart and if they didn't find anything, they wouldn't be liable for repairs. I bet they were doing the same thing.

I stopped trusting cops a long time ago. I never carry over a grand. Always get a bank check if I need more.

Not surprised....

Check??

Anyone traveling around with more than 1k in pocket is an idiot.

would you give someone the papers of your car in exchange for a check?


(actually I don't know how quick they can clear, over here we don't use checks since last century)

I was like W T F ???????

Then I was like :1orglaugh :thumbsup

Normally you take the title for the car with you and meet the person at the bank. Bank can notarize the signature of title transfer and they hand you the check.

Honestly its silly to have that amount of cash in your pocket.

http://s10.postimg.org/fqsripfix/IMG_3790.jpg


I guess I'm an idiot. But not as big an idiot as someone actually taking a personal check from a stranger. Bank checks can also be fake or have the payment stopped. Also if you are one of several people looking at a car/motorcycle/boat and have cash in hand, guess who gets the best price and the vehicle right then?

As far as having a large amount of cash on hand anyone smart has a certain part of their net worth immediately available. It's disgusting to think my legally obtained after tax money automatically makes me a criminal.


.

[QUOTE=pornguy;20220695]Normally you take the title for the car with you and meet the person at the bank. Bank can notarize the signature of title transfer and they hand you the check.

Honestly its silly to have that amount of cash in your pocket.[/QUOTE





I have bought, and sold many cars with cash transactions.
Oh and a boat or two. :2 cents:

Folks cash is LEGAL TENDER it isn't anyone's job to tell you not to use it or use it. And who fuckin cares why you are carrying it, it isn't a crime. Amazing how like clockwork, no matter how serious the abuse, you have some dipshit pop up and say "well you shouldn't do that then you don't have anything to worry about." If you stab yourself in the heart at birth you don't have anything to worry about either. The rest of us know that abuses need to be checked.

me and a lot of cash in one picture - thats rare :1orglaugh

Having quick access to cash has allowed me to snag quite a few good deals and make nice profit from them. My dad taught me that when I was young.

If that makes me an idiot, I'm fine with that. :winkwink:

It is not a legal tender anymore. I attempted to deposit 320 into an employees account in chase and they refused to take cash. They sent me top cvs to buy a money order.
How fucked up that? Bank sends me to the pharmacy to exchange cash lol

Some of those big banks are real cock suckers.

I have three business checking accounts with Wells Fargo. I set each one of them up with an automatic transfer so that I would avoid the monthly fee for having a checking account. Over the past six months they have changed their policy three different times, each time putting me just outside of the monthly fee waiver.

I will never open another account there again.

:thumbsup:thumbsup

Your no dummy!


I think people are not putting things into perspective.


I have picked up some serious production equipment in the past. Cash was the only form of payment. Picked up a bunch grip and gear at a fire sale. Had 30K cash. Was able to pick up and flip for profit and gear really quick.


The difference between my cash and some else's cash that may get stolen by cops is; My cash is traceable income and taxes where paid on it. Cops catch you with illegal drugs of any sort and large sums of cash, the chances are the cash was obtained through illegal means. If its not traceable income and there has been no taxes paid on it you are gonna be fucked.


This is the rub: You get over 10K+ taken from you and you cannot prove you earned it, you will also get banged up for tax evasion. "Al Capone."


I know a friend of mine a while back that got into serious trouble with serious charges brought against him. In his situation, all the hardcore charges were beaten except for tax evasion and mail fraud. Both happened to have serious teeth come penalty time.


Had another friend that had just over 300K in cash in his house. His attorney advised "against" claiming his money, because he couldn't justify the income. Claiming the money would have given him a few extra charges that he couldn't beat in court. How fucked up is that???



So im guessing these cops steal from people who they feel are drug dealers or crooks of some type. The cops catch people with drug evidence, large amounts of unexplainable cash, keep it all, knowing nobody wants to pay attorneys+court fees with the possibly of getting into serious trouble through a legal battle.


Lame!!

Just Dave

i get all that when you're crossing borders - but not inside your own country. that's simply highway robbery (and your guns don't help either when it's the police that robs you)

How in fuck nobody pays attention to the thing that how that seizing money and holding it for infinity even without charges is even possible?

Doesn't anybody care about politics in USA? Usually that kind of shit triggers some voting behaviours, at least elsewhere. Although having basically just two parties and no one seems to even considering voting some other party, is of course a bit limiting factor.

:thumbsup

It shouldn't be any of the govt.'s fucking business how much cash I have at any time.

This is all just more of the "War On Drugs" bullshit.

Encouraged by departments of Homeland Security and Justice police around the country make use of a private intelligence network to determine which motorists to rob, a Washington Post investigation found.

Obama's America Fuck Yeah!! More hope and lots of change.

It's been a business around here for years. Here I think it's called "Judicial task force" or something along those lines. They take cops from one county and put them in another in unmarked cars. They sit on the side of the interstate all day and night pulling people over left and right for nothing more than search and seizure. It's a big money racket here.

can you link to your compuserve post that shows you predicted these abuses?

thanks. :)

Scary times. If there is ever a run on banks, I am wondering if police will be watching people leaving the banks.