Wednesday, December 13, 2006

The War on drUgS

State troopers seized $1 million cash stuffed inside a hidden compartment in a pickup truck...when the driver was pulled over, initially under suspicion of speeding.
Paula Poundstone: I think the cops are out to get me.
David Letterman: How's that?
Paula Poundstone: The other day, I got pulled over for attempted speeding.
"Cash can be confiscated if investigators believe it was associated with criminal activity." All the cop has to do is clap his hands twice and say, "I thought you was a crook, so I get your money." And he doesn't even have to clap his hands.
"Normal people do not move money across state lines in a pickup truck," the DEA said. "Just the fact of life is that the source of a lot of our drugs is Mexico. Drug dealers want to get their money back to the source."
The truck was registered in Washington state, seized heading east in Mobile, Alabama. If he was looking for Mexico, the driver was seriously lost.
"As far as I know, I don't think he's in federal custody, but I don't know that for sure."
It was serious enough to grab a million dollars but not arrest the guy. This isn't a war on drugs so much as a war on us.