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‘We want cash’ Drug agents seize $209mn in random profiling of 5,200 travelers

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Re: ‘We want cash’ Drug agents seize $209mn in random profiling of 5,200 travelers

#11

Post by foobarcrunch »

gotthemwmds wrote: post #8

It's long been known by people who play the drug game that the authorities only care about lining their own pockets. This is an anecdotal story, but could be "New Yorker level" vetted if someone tried. About 20 years ago my friend John was living in Salt Lake City, Utah -- where he grew up -- and had rented a house in CA for the sole purpose of growing pot in. He spent almost 5 years bringing about 50-100lbs of high…

American police currently behave as a paramilitary, occupying mafia just slightly less terrible than anarchy.

Re: ‘We want cash’ Drug agents seize $209mn in random profiling of 5,200 travelers

#12

Post by jdimov10 »

dragonbonheur wrote: post #4

The United States has fast become the land where a wall informed individual should never set foot, if he/she values his/her belongings, freedom and life.

I lived in the US for 5 years - I went there as an exchange student when I was 17, finished high school then went to university. One day, just before completing my CS & Math degree, I was arrested, imprisoned and (after 3 months of being bounced around various detention facilities in 3 different states, without any explanation) I was deported for violating my student visa (because I had to work to pay tuition).

Have not set foot there since 2012 and don't intend to, even though my wife really wants to visit NYC. Frankly, right now I feel I would be safer visiting North Korea or Syria or Yemen, than the US. I'm absolutely terrified by just about anything that has to do with the USofA.

I have also come to distrust Americans more than any other group of people.

[For context, I'm a white, middle-class entrepreneur / software engineer, originally from east Europe, now living in the UK]

Re: ‘We want cash’ Drug agents seize $209mn in random profiling of 5,200 travelers

#13

Post by rincebrain »

lostlogin wrote: post #9

This is alarming and a massive overstep. However why would anyone ever travel with sums like that on them? I don't get it at all. I know that the US is a society that uses cash a lot more than mine, but carry sums like that seems utterly crazy.

People generally don't carry large sums of cash, but there are a number of cases where one might.

People who are paranoid about banks, for example, or people who cannot, for one reason or another, use a bank account without raising eyebrows.

Possibly the most innocuous example I can think of would be someone who is paid mostly in cash tips, and does not put them in the bank to avoid any paper trail requiring taxes. If they then paid their living expenses entirely out of their "base" wages, they could accumulate a substantial under-the-table pile of money.

Re: ‘We want cash’ Drug agents seize $209mn in random profiling of 5,200 travelers

#14

Post by dragonbonheur »

jdimov10 wrote: post #12
dragonbonheur wrote: post #4

The United States has fast become the land where a wall informed individual should never set foot, if he/she values his/her belongings, freedom and life.

I lived in the US for 5 years - I went there as an exchange student when I was 17, finished high school then went to university. One day, just before completing my CS & Math degree, I was arrested, imprisoned and (after 3 months of being bounced around various detention facilities in 3 different states, without any explanation) I was deported for violating my student visa (because I had to work to pay tuition). Have…

Please, Please, please, pretty please-with-extra-sugar-and-rainbow-sprinkles-and-chocolate-chips on top, do not visit North Korea, Yemen, Syria or even Dubai or Abu Dhabi either.

Re: ‘We want cash’ Drug agents seize $209mn in random profiling of 5,200 travelers

#15

Post by jamestnz »

"Civil forfeiture" they call this, where the local Police Department essentially steals your stuff, and the burden is on you to prove why you should get it back. Of course you'd assume the local PD couldn't possibly be allowed to keep it themselves, surely it is remitted into some state or federal government fund.

Well, enter the "Equitable Sharing" program, which was halted/curtailed in 2015 when there was a furore about it, but has apparently resumed[1]. This is where the actual local PD that seized your money really does get to keep 80% of it themselves, with only 20% going to the feds.

But for some reason the locals aren't allowed to spend this money on op-ex (salaries etc) so they often spend it on crazy equipment which they can obtain via the Department of Defense's 1033 Program[2][3] which allows PDs to buy excess military equipment like weaponized vehicles, armored personnel carriers, grenade launchers, and helicopters -- obviously contributing to the increasing militarization of police[4].

Conflict of interest much? More confiscation of citizen funds == more toys for the boys at the PD.

All funded by money and assets seized from citizens on highly questionable grounds, with no real semblance of due process. Not great.

[1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/03/28/the-f...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1033_program

[3] http://www.businessinsider.com.au/aclu-report-on-police-mili...

[4] http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/2014/10/11/as...

Re: ‘We want cash’ Drug agents seize $209mn in random profiling of 5,200 travelers

#16

Post by gotthemwmds »

foobarcrunch wrote: post #11
gotthemwmds wrote: post #8

It's long been known by people who play the drug game that the authorities only care about lining their own pockets. This is an anecdotal story, but could be "New Yorker level" vetted if someone tried. About 20 years ago my friend John was living in Salt Lake City, Utah -- where he grew up -- and had rented a house in CA for the sole purpose of growing pot in. He spent almost 5 years bringing about 50-100lbs of high…

American police currently behave as a paramilitary, occupying mafia just slightly less terrible than anarchy.

I hope no one is wondering why the DEA made the unconscionable act of not re-classifying marijuana as a Schedule II drug.

There are so many tens (hundreds?) of thousands of people whose livelihood is tried up in arresting people for drug crimes that shouldn't be illegal in the first place. Think about all those DEA agents making $100k a year plus their pensions, all those judges and public defenders, all those private prisons full of people doing possession charges. All those local cops employed to keep an eye on them during probation.

It's absolutely disgusting and ruins peoples' lives on a daily basis, but totally expected behavior in a society that only cares about money (aka capitalism).

I am sort of surprised there isn't a lot more backlash against the DEA for this horrible move last week, but then again, the pro-pot legalization movement isn't all that impressive either. The most annoying thing about marijuana is fucking idiot stoners representing the brand.

edit: and don't even get me started on the huge amount of needless deaths in northern Mexico directly caused by the War on Drugs. Go read 2666 if you want a sliver of an idea of how bad it is there. But hey, to the average American, they are brown people so they don't care. Disgusting.

Re: ‘We want cash’ Drug agents seize $209mn in random profiling of 5,200 travelers

#17

Post by jdimov10 »

dragonbonheur wrote: post #14
jdimov10 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I lived in the US for 5 years - I went there as an exchange student when I was 17, finished high school then went to university. One day, just before completing my CS & Math degree, I was arrested, imprisoned and (after 3 months of being bounced around various detention facilities in 3 different states, without any explanation) I was deported for violating my student visa (because I had to work to pay tuition). Have…

Please, Please, please, pretty please-with-extra-sugar-and-rainbow-sprinkles-and-chocolate-chips on top, do not visit North Korea, Yemen, Syria or even Dubai or Abu Dhabi either.

Already been to Dubai and Abu Dhabi multiple times, for both pleasure and business. Have taken my family a few times too. We love it there (although I am not at all oblivious to the way they treat Asian workers).

And for Yemen - I have been dying to visit Sana'a, such a deeply beautiful place. And I'm devastated that this seems like an impossible dream now, after the US/Saudi invasion.

Re: ‘We want cash’ Drug agents seize $209mn in random profiling of 5,200 travelers

#18

Post by HalfwayToDice »

foobarcrunch wrote: post #11
gotthemwmds wrote: post #8

It's long been known by people who play the drug game that the authorities only care about lining their own pockets. This is an anecdotal story, but could be "New Yorker level" vetted if someone tried. About 20 years ago my friend John was living in Salt Lake City, Utah -- where he grew up -- and had rented a house in CA for the sole purpose of growing pot in. He spent almost 5 years bringing about 50-100lbs of high…

American police currently behave as a paramilitary, occupying mafia just slightly less terrible than anarchy.

Thank you for your reasoned thoughtful comment. You find the smartest people on HackerNews!

Re: ‘We want cash’ Drug agents seize $209mn in random profiling of 5,200 travelers

#19

Post by robk »

jdimov10 wrote: post #12
dragonbonheur wrote: post #4

The United States has fast become the land where a wall informed individual should never set foot, if he/she values his/her belongings, freedom and life.

I lived in the US for 5 years - I went there as an exchange student when I was 17, finished high school then went to university. One day, just before completing my CS & Math degree, I was arrested, imprisoned and (after 3 months of being bounced around various detention facilities in 3 different states, without any explanation) I was deported for violating my student visa (because I had to work to pay tuition). Have…

You should absolutely go to Syria and report back how much better it is and how much more free you feel there.

Re: ‘We want cash’ Drug agents seize $209mn in random profiling of 5,200 travelers

#20

Post by bertil »

gotthemwmds wrote: post #8

It's long been known by people who play the drug game that the authorities only care about lining their own pockets. This is an anecdotal story, but could be "New Yorker level" vetted if someone tried. About 20 years ago my friend John was living in Salt Lake City, Utah -- where he grew up -- and had rented a house in CA for the sole purpose of growing pot in. He spent almost 5 years bringing about 50-100lbs of high…

I mean… That sounds like what a lot of people want (for pot).
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