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Title: DEA Caught Spying on Innocent Travelers to Steal Hundreds of Millions — And It’s 100% “Legal”
Source:
Activist Post
URL Source: http://www.activistpost.com/2016/08 ... ndreds-millions-100-legal.html
Published: Aug 12, 2016
Author: Claire Bernish
Post Date: 2016-08-13 00:08:55 by Deckard
Keywords: None
Views: 4156
Comments: 35
An intensely troubling report proves the DEA pilfers millions in cash from travelers with little, if any, evidence they committed even minor crimes — and virtually never return any of the money, even if charges are never levied. Worse, simply purchasing a one-way ticket — or even flying to California — constitutes sufficient reason for the DEA to target someone for a potential cash seizure. “We want the cash,” George Hood, a now-retired agent who supervised a drug task force assigned to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, arrogantly boasted of supposed attempts to bring down cartels via their wallets. “Good agents chase cash.” USA Today studied the DEA’s airport operations, and though information was difficult to obtain — due, in large part, to the rarity cash seizures led to arrests or even detainments by agents — it’s clear the agency has reaped an astonishing profit by regularly mining the travel records of millions of people. As USA Today wrote of the cash-grabbing operation: It is a lucrative endeavor, and one that remains largely unknown outside the drug agency. DEA agents assigned to patrol 15 of the nation’s busiest airports seized more than $209 million in cash from at least 5,200 people over the past decade after concluding the money was linked to drug trafficking, according to Justice Department records. Most of the money was passed onto local police departments that lend officers to assist the drug agency. Those departments and the agency “count on this as part of the budget,” explained Louis Weiss, a former agent supervising the group assigned to the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. “Basically, you’ve got to feed the monster.” Agents frequently receive tips about putatively suspicious itineraries or travel patterns — paying in cash, purchasing a one-way ticket, or even having checked luggage — but cannot use such tips alone to detain passengers or search their belongings. After being alerted, agents use the information to question travelers and ask to search their bags. Most often, agents seize large sums of cash — “sometimes totaling $50,000 or more, stuffed into suitcases or socks” — leaving a receipt in its place without ever arresting, detaining, or charging individuals with any crime. Totals seized by the DEA vary widely by location: in Los Angeles, the total through mid-2015 topped $52.1 million; in Cincinnati, $18,047 — but that isn’t accidental. Destinations in California were flagged for connections to marijuana and narcotics trafficking. Exactly how the DEA procures Americans’ travel records remains uncertain, as is the scope of the agency’s snooping — but USA Today spoke with several agents on condition of anonymity who made clear the cash-filching operation is extensive. However unethical it might be to plunder money from wholly innocent people, under federal asset forfeiture law, the practice is perfectly legal. Any law enforcement agency has broad powers to seize cash and property from anyone if those items are suspected to be somehow related to a crime — but the hotly contentious program does not require any proof a crime has been committed or that the subject has been involved in criminal activity. “Going after someone’s property has nothing to do with protecting them and it has everything to do with going after the money,” Renée Flaherty, attorney with the asset forfeiture-specializing Institute for Justice, aptly noted for USA Today. Asset forfeiture has spurned so much controversy, the Department of Justice halted the program in late December 2015 — but the respite for the American public didn’t last long. Just three months later, the DOJ reinstated its highly lucrative property plundering, because revenue — from the government’s standpoint, what better way exists to rob the public blind with veritable impunity. “To put it simply,” USA Today observed in 2013, law enforcement is “developing an addiction to drug money.” Besides suspect travel plans, agents also use drug-sniffing K-9s to detect drugs in travelers bags as a pretext for searches, which could then lead to a lucrative seizure — a distressing fact, given a study seven years ago found cocaine residue on 90 percent of U.S. dollars. Thus, nearly anyone traveling with cash in their luggage — particularly in large amounts — could easily tip off a canine investigator. According to five current and former agents who spoke with USA Today, the DEA has been able to cultivate a sweeping network of informants trained to scrutinize itineraries and tip off the agency — and most receive what amounts to kickbacks for their efforts in the form of a percentage of the haul. Indeed the web of informants is so extensive, “agents have been able to profile passengers traveling on most major airlines, including American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, United and others.” Those airlines, however — acting with ethical integrity clearly devoid in government agencies — for the most part, remain reluctant to cooperate with the DEA’s efforts and would not hand over passenger information. “They really did not want to be associated with subjecting their passengers to government scrutiny because of privacy issues,” Weiss explained. “They discouraged their employees from assisting us.” Agents also told the news outlet in many cases, grounds even to arrest supposed couriers were hazy at best, and upon release would use the incident to sniff out more extensive trafficking involvement. But almost none of the encounters ever led to arrests or charges directly stemming from the DEA’s search and seizure operations. “Of 87 cases USA Today identified in which the DEA seized cash after flagging a suspicious itinerary, only two resulted in the alleged courier being charged with a crime,” the outlet reported. “One involved a woman who was already a target of a federal money-laundering investigation; another alleged courier was arrested a month later on an apparently unrelated drug charge.” Without arrests or charges — without crime — attached to almost any of the DEA’s cash grabs, how the program remains legal is anyone’s guess. Agents admitted that despite fairly significant busts of actual drugs, the DEA’s mission primarily rests in seizing cash. And as the horribly failed and altogether farcically-premised drug war labors forward — reaffirmed by today’s announcement from the DEA it has no intent to reschedule cannabis from its position alongside cocaine and heroin as a dangerous substance with no medical value — Americans can expect the government’s legalized robbery scam to continue unabated. 
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#1. To: Deckard (#0)
This is true. Cannabis produces the same mental debilitation as other drugs without the physical withdrawal problems. This contributes to a false complacncy regarding the use of the drug. In practice a person can live in a dung pile using cannabis. The same person can also demand that other people live in the same dung pile when influenced by cannabis.
Any thoughts on this you medical quack? “Of 87 cases USA Today identified in which the DEA seized cash after flagging a suspicious itinerary, only two resulted in the alleged courier being charged with a crime,” There are two separate issues here. You are attempting to combine them as one.
Now that's funny.
Irrelevant to its medical properties, and equally true of alcohol. A government strong enough to impose your standards is strong enough to ban them. I think the potential adverse psychological effects of marijuana are often underplayed. Perhaps that is because they were overplayed in the past. Marijuana can definitely cause anxiety and panic states. Obama has played at being a president while enjoying the perks … golf, insanely expensive vacations at tax-payer expense. He has ignored the responsibilities of the job; no plans, no budgets, no alternatives … just finger pointing; making him a complete failure as a president
Alcohol just brings out your true self, or at least your true self at that particular time. Marijuana alters your way of thinking. Obama has played at being a president while enjoying the perks … golf, insanely expensive vacations at tax-payer expense. He has ignored the responsibilities of the job; no plans, no budgets, no alternatives … just finger pointing; making him a complete failure as a president
Next, Drug addict lovers will piss themselves in anger that they can't use the receipt for a tax write off and business expense. lol I'm the infidel... Allah warned you about. كافر المسلح
I'd say the innocent people who have their money stolen should be angry, how about you? “Of 87 cases USA Today identified in which the DEA seized cash after flagging a suspicious itinerary, only two resulted in the alleged courier being charged with a crime,” Do the math, that works out to less than 3%. .0229 to be exact. But what the hell - they must have been guilty of something right? That's the problem with you drug addict loving Paultards. You don't know the meaning of innocent in a world of anything goes. Shut your shit lips. I'm the infidel... Allah warned you about. كافر المسلح
Attaboy - typical cop attitude. Everyone is guilty of something, right? No wonder cops like you are reviled by freedom loving Americans. “Of 87 cases USA Today identified in which the DEA seized cash after flagging a suspicious itinerary, only two resulted in the alleged courier being charged with a crime,” Less than 3% guilty, yet the state-sponsored thieves keep stealing from innocent citizens. Why don't you move the fuck someplace where your fascist views are welcome? “To put it simply,” USA Today observed in 2013, law enforcement is “developing an addiction to drug money.” Who are the real addicts? Marijuana alters your way of thinking. I've used both and seen them used, and I don't agree with your characterization. In exactly what way do you claim "marijuana alters your way of thinking" that alcohol doesn't? A government strong enough to impose your standards is strong enough to ban them. Everyone is guilty of something, right? Attaboy - typical anarchist/paultard PROPAGANDA. All the cops are corrupt, right? I'm the infidel... Allah warned you about. كافر المسلح
Going by the facts posted in this article, over 87% of them are. False. The DOJ suspended the "equitable sharing program" which allowed local police to keep a portion of the seized assets. It did not shut down the Federal asset forfeiture program. This, of course, is nonsense, as any reading of the actual statute would make clear. It reads as a launtry list of crimes that can authorize the seizure of related property. The asset seizure is justified by a claim that it was used to commit or facilitate a crime, or that it violates customs laws. When the asset is seized as property used to commit or facilitate the commission of a criminal offense, it is not necessary to charge or convict or identify any individual as having committed the offense. It is sufficient to show that the asset was used to commit or facilitate a crime. Asset forfeiture remains legal because the government has the lawful power to seize property used to commit or facilitate a crime. That the statute may be abused does not mean that the Act is unconstitutional or that drug dealers get to keep their ill-gotten assets. The asset forfeiture proceeding is a civil proceeding against the asset. http://law.justia.com/codes/us/2014/title-18/part-i/chapter-46/sec.-981/ §981. Civil forfeiture (a)(1) The following property is subject to forfeiture to the United States: (A) Any property, real or personal, involved in a transaction or attempted transaction in violation of section 1956, 1957 or 1960 of this title, or any property traceable to such property. (B) Any property, real or personal, within the jurisdiction of the United States, constituting, derived from, or traceable to, any proceeds obtained directly or indirectly from an offense against a foreign nation, or any property used to facilitate such an offense, if the offense— (i) involves trafficking in nuclear, chemical, biological, or radiological weapons technology or material, or the manufacture, importation, sale, or distribution of a controlled substance (as that term is defined for purposes of the Controlled Substances Act), or any other conduct described in section 1956(c)(7)(B); (ii) would be punishable within the jurisdiction of the foreign nation by death or imprisonment for a term exceeding 1 year; and (iii) would be punishable under the laws of the United States by imprisonment for a term exceeding 1 year, if the act or activity constituting the offense had occurred within the jurisdiction of the United States. [snip]
§981. Civil forfeiture The illegal legislation is NOT law, because it's an unconstitutional violation of due process. It is the law. You can look it up. Your huffing and puffing otherwise does not nullify the law.
How can federal law be legitimate if the powers are reserved to the states? Where is US Constitutional amendment?
What, no 50GB of spam in an attempt to back your ludicrous claim? You really need to keep up with the news you ambulance-chasing shyster. The feds have resumed a controversial program that lets cops take stuff and keep it The Justice Department has announced that it is resuming a controversial practice that allows local police departments to funnel a large portion of assets seized from citizens into their own coffers under federal law. The "Equitable Sharing Program" gives police the option of prosecuting some asset forfeiture cases under federal instead of state law, particularly in instances where local law enforcement officers have a relationship with federal authorities as part of a joint task force. Federal forfeiture policies are more permissive than many state policies, allowing police to keep up to 80 percent of assets they seize. You're a fucking tool. Stupid opinion using flawed logic, seeing that the govt is seizing the property BEFORE PROVING that a crime was committed. (We must now prepare for reams of spam, insisting that Chan's opinions MUST NOT BE QUESTIONED)
You can look it up Thievery! Obama can't just call someone a name, and then steal their property because you think that they might vote for Vermin Supreme, or something. You have a right to confront your accuser, and be judged by a jury of your peers, etc.... And the contemptibly laughable fiction that the property owner is not being punished even carries over to the case names: things like U.S. v $193,458. Such chicanery, like anyone who supports it, is unworthy of a free country. A government strong enough to impose your standards is strong enough to ban them. You're a fucking idiot.
If your drug money is seized, try presenting your crap to a court. Your huffing and puffing does not nullify the law. It's still there.
Tell it to Congress, they enacted the law, almost unanimous in the House and unanimous in the Senate. Love it or hate it, it's still the law.
You have a right to confront your accuser, and be judged by a jury of your peers, etc.... You are not accused in a CIVIL Asset Forfeiture proceeding. You are not entitled to a jury trial. You are not on trial. The Civil Asset Seizure Reform Act of 2000 was not signed by Obama. Nor was it repealed by Bush. The Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of April 25, 2000, was introduced by Republican Henry Hyde and signed into law by President Clinton. It passed the House 375-48. Passed the Senate by unanimous consent. ‘‘(1) the burden of proof is on the Government to establish, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the property is subject to forfeiture; ‘‘(2) the Government may use evidence gathered after the filing of a complaint for forfeiture to establish, by a preponderance of the evidence, that property is subject to forfeiture; and ‘‘(3) if the Government’s theory of forfeiture is that the property was used to commit or facilitate the commission of a criminal offense, or was involved in the commission of a criminal offense, the Government shall establish that there was a substantial connection between the property and the offense." 114 Stat. 205-06. ‘‘(1) An innocent owner’s interest in property shall not be forfeited under any civil forfeiture statute. The claimant shall have the burden of proving that the claimant is an innocent owner by a preponderance of the evidence. 114 Stat. 206
http://www.leafscience.com/2014/03/07/study-explains-marijuana-makes-paranoid/
Obama has played at being a president while enjoying the perks … golf, insanely expensive vacations at tax-payer expense. He has ignored the responsibilities of the job; no plans, no budgets, no alternatives … just finger pointing; making him a complete failure as a president
Stupid opinion using flawed logic, seeing that the govt is seizing the property BEFORE PROVING that a crime was committed. Your disdain for logic, and constitutional law is well documented, nolu. Keep dreaming that anyone here supports your idiocy.
I've tried to tell that stupid F*ck, Puketard, this... and he's too F'n stupid to comprehend anything but what THC stands for. I'm the infidel... Allah warned you about. كافر المسلح
too F'n stupid to comprehend anything He knows that he is saying is bullshit. He just likes to be an asshole. If you believe his bullshit, he is about an eighty year old asshole.
The toughest and most scorned 1960's hippie asshole with a walker. lol I'm the infidel... Allah warned you about. كافر المسلح
Nah, he enlisted at 18 in January 1955. By his long-told internet history, he must be at least 79 years old. If he enlisted at about 18 and 5 months. then he would be 80. Now he is the most scorned keyboard commando with a walker in his mother's basement, doing his impression of an aging millenial. His big hope is that his mother replaces his Commodore 64 for Christmas and gets him that onesey he has wanted ever since he first saw pajama boy.
What, no 50GB of spam in an attempt to back your ludicrous claim? You really need to keep up with the news you ambulance-chasing shyster. The feds have resumed a controversial program that lets cops take stuff and keep it No shit, Sherlock. Try reading the article. The Feds suspended the Equitable Sharing Program and then reinstated it. The Equitable Sharing Program gives state police the option of processing asset forfeiture cases under Federal law. The suspension of that program never affected Federal processing of asset forfeiture cases in any way. It never affected the ability of the DEA or any Federal agency to process such cases. It affected State agencies. Damn, you're dumb. The "Equitable Sharing Program" gives police the option of prosecuting some asset forfeiture cases under federal instead of state law, particularly in instances where local law enforcement officers have a relationship with federal authorities as part of a joint task force. Federal forfeiture policies are more permissive than many state policies, allowing police to keep up to 80 percent of assets they seize.
Don't need a walker, I'm loosing my 'tough' rapidly, -- And I was never a hippy. -- The beat generation was the 'in thing' just before I got married. Gee, the sham spammer knows how to use arithmetic. -- I'll be 80 in Dec. My mother died years ago, at 96, you creep. -- What's with the 'pajama boy' crap? -- Are you gay?
The Drug Enforcement Agency is a joke. Once again they have declined to reschedule cannabis. They still claim it has no medical uses despite the overwhelming evidence. They still liken it to heroin or LSD.
#2. To: rlk (#1)
“Truth is treason in the empire of lies.” - Ron Paul
"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards."
#3. To: Deckard (#2)
Any thoughts on this you medical quack?
#4. To: Deckard (#0)
"Most often, agents seize large sums of cash — “sometimes totaling $50,000 or more, stuffed into suitcases or socks” — leaving a receipt in its place"
#5. To: rlk (#1)
Cannabis produces the same mental debilitation as other drugs
#6. To: rlk (#1)
Cannabis produces the same mental debilitation as other drugs without the physical withdrawal problems.
#7. To: ConservingFreedom (#5)
equally true of alcohol.
#8. To: misterwhite (#4)
leaving a receipt in its place"
#9. To: GrandIsland (#8)
Next, Drug addict lovers will piss themselves in anger
“Truth is treason in the empire of lies.” - Ron Paul
"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards."
#10. To: Deckard (#9)
I'd say the innocent people who have their money stolen should be angry, how about you?
#11. To: GrandIsland (#10)
(Edited)
You don't know the meaning of innocent in a world of anything goes.
“Truth is treason in the empire of lies.” - Ron Paul
"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards."
#12. To: no gnu taxes (#7)
Alcohol just brings out your true self, or at least your true self at that particular time.
#13. To: Deckard (#11)
Attaboy - typical cop attitude.
#14. To: GrandIsland (#13)
All the cops are corrupt, right?
“Truth is treason in the empire of lies.” - Ron Paul
"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards."
#15. To: Deckard (#0)
Asset forfeiture has spurned so much controversy, the Department of Justice halted the program in late December 2015 — but the respite for the American public didn’t last long. Just three months later, the DOJ reinstated its highly lucrative property plundering, because revenue — from the government’s standpoint, what better way exists to rob the public blind with veritable impunity.
Without arrests or charges — without crime — attached to almost any of the DEA’s cash grabs, how the program remains legal is anyone’s guess.
18 U.S.C. § 981 (2014)
#16. To: nolu chan, Banana Republican, *Bill of Rights-Constitution* (#15)
18 U.S.C. § 981 (2014)
Castle(C), Stein(G), Johnson(L)
#17. To: hondo68 (#16)
The illegal legislation is NOT law, because it's an unconstitutional violation of due process.
#18. To: nolu chan (#17)
#19. To: nolu chan, hondo68 (#15)
(Edited)
False. The DOJ suspended the "equitable sharing program"...
“Truth is treason in the empire of lies.” - Ron Paul
"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards."
#20. To: nolu chan, Y'ALL (#15)
Asset forfeiture remains legal because the government has the lawful power to seize property used to commit or facilitate a crime.
#21. To: nolu chan, bogus law, no trial, no conviction, just steal it (#17)
Castle(C), Stein(G), Johnson(L)
#22. To: nolu chan (#15)
When the asset is seized as property used to commit or facilitate the commission of a criminal offense, it is not necessary to charge or convict or identify any individual as having committed the offense. It is sufficient to show that the asset was used to commit or facilitate a crime.
#23. To: Deckard (#19)
You're a fucking tool.
#24. To: tpaine (#20)
Stupid opinion using flawed logic, seeing that the govt is seizing the property BEFORE PROVING that a crime was committed.
#25. To: ConservingFreedom (#22)
Such chicanery, like anyone who supports it, is unworthy of a free country.
#26. To: hondo68 (#21)
Thievery! Obama can't just call someone a name, and then steal their property because you think that they might vote for Vermin Supreme, or something.
‘‘(c) BURDEN OF PROOF.—In a suit or action brought under any civil forfeiture statute for the civil forfeiture of any property—
‘‘(d) INNOCENT OWNER DEFENSE.—
#27. To: ConservingFreedom (#12)
#28. To: nolu chan, puffing poor logic. (#24)
Your huffing and puffing does not nullify the law. It's still there.
#29. To: nolu chan, Puketard (#15)
it is not necessary to charge or convict or identify any individual as having committed the offense. It is sufficient to show that the asset was used to commit or facilitate a crime.
#30. To: GrandIsland, Boss Hogg, nolu chan, tpaine, Deckard, buckeroo (#29)
Castle(C), Stein(G), Johnson(L)
#31. To: GrandIsland (#29)
I've tried to tell that stupid F*ck, Puketard, this... and he's too F'n stupid to comprehend anything but what THC stands for.
#32. To: nolu chan (#31)
#33. To: GrandIsland (#32)
The toughest and most scorned 1960's hippie asshole with a walker.
#34. To: Deckard (#19)
False. The DOJ suspended the "equitable sharing program"...
The Justice Department has announced that it is resuming a controversial practice that allows local police departments to funnel a large portion of assets seized from citizens into their own coffers under federal law.
#35. To: nolu spam, grandisland, y'all (#33)
GrandIsland (#32) -- (Tpaine is) The toughest and most scorned 1960's hippie asshole with a walker.
nolu spam --- Nah, he enlisted at 18 in January 1955. By his long-told internet history, he must be at least 79 years old. If he enlisted at about 18 and 5 months. then he would be 80.
Now he is the most scorned keyboard commando with a walker in his mother's basement, doing his impression of an aging millenial. His big hope is that his mother replaces his Commodore 64 for Christmas and gets him that onesey he has wanted ever since he first saw pajama boy.
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