Police don’t even know whose money it is, or where it came from. I think they should be able to keep it.
If the cops can’t prove who it belongs to and they can’t prove its crime money then it should be the people who found it. They should pay income tax unless they can prove they’ve already done that.
Sounds cool, but I can guarantee some mobster would come and get it back one way or the other. I’d rather reach some agreement with Police to donate the money to the Drug Foundation or something similar. And do that very publicly. And then move house.
Lesson: don’t notify police when you find money.
I used to think so, but after watching many hours of body-cam vids, talk respectfully and maybe reserve your rights only in extremely severe situations. Cops often get hostile towards people who observe their rights.
EDIT 2:
II realize a lot of this might mostly apply to the US, so take it with a grain of salt:
"What!? Bullies get away with it because they aren’t challenged! None of us are allowed our Rights because the police graciously let us have them, they are ours. They are guaranteed by the Constitution of our country and must be vigorously defended.
With that said, of course be respectful (the video might even mention this? I don’t know, it’s been a while since I watched it), but please, be firm and don’t let anyone trample over your rights just because it feels easier in the moment."
EDIT: Also, respectfully, if you only watch body cam footage you might only see what they want you to see. There are many, many cases of police turning off their body cameras or raising the hoods of their cruisers (blocking the dash cam) with varying excuses…
They bought the house in late 2021.
Oh those poor people, let them keep it, they will need it for the mortgage of the house they paid far too much for.
olice made inquiries with the previous owner of the house, a family trust, and found out who the tenants were before the couple bought the property.
None of the tenants said they had any knowledge of the money, nor did any of them have a criminal history which suggested they may have acquired it illicitly.
“Hey guys, it’s us, the police! We found this drug money in a house you used to live at, was it you selling the drugs?”
It’s a lot of money but also what possible benefit could they have to admitting it’s their drug money 😆
Exactly what I thought, nobody is going to own up and say it was theirs.
I’d love to know how that much cash ended up in a ceiling space though, someone must know it’s there, but has decided it’s not worth the risk to come back and get it. Or they’re in prison.
Maybe there was a lot more but they took it? It’s a lot of money to us but if you had cartel connections I imagine it’s the equivalent of change that got stuck in the couch.
I’d guess either 1. they have talked to the culprit, who didn’t fancy going to prison so didn’t admit to it, or 2. one of the previous tenants had a regular visitor that they didn’t know was storing the cash there.
I know they said none of the previous tenants had a history but I’d expect most drug dealers probably don’t have a criminal history, if they are good at their job.
Obviously we need a precedent setting ruling here. Personally I say we go 50/50, given the likely criminal link to the cash.
Allowing the couple to keep 100% would open up a pathway to a new type of money laundering, and will enable drug money to be more easily passed on to others, either deliberately or by accident.
