I don’t think carrying cash is a crime.

I don’t think driving out of a major city is a crime. Even if that city happens to be “a known point for distribution of illegal narcotics” and the destination is a town known to receive the same. I would suspect that many places are involved with either the first or second or both. But even if these where the only 2 cities in the US that deal in drugs, it would not be a crime to drive between the two.

There were also children in the car. The couple making the trip indicated these were their children. But the police apparently believed that the children were just decoys to mask the illegal movement of drugs. By the way, they found no drugs, just several thousand in cash.

The police seized the car, cash and occupants. The District Attorney offered a deal where that could sign over the money and gain freedom for both they and the children. If they did not take the deal, the would face several felony counts and get jail-time and lose the children. (No pressure there).

It turns out this is not an isolated incident. These cash for freedom deals are not uncommon. Several of these cases are presented in The New Yorker. It is a good article, read it.

The link above works for me but then I subscribe to The New Yorker. If the link doesn’t work for you, but you can get The New Yorker, try to find the August 12, 2013 magazine. The article is just called “Taken”, the author is Sarah Stillman and it begins on page 48.

I find it amazing that seizures like the can occur. I have no problem with seizing assets of convicted crimes. But these folks were not convicted of any crime. Indeed, they were not even charged but their stuff was still seized.