A FEDERAL judge today will hear each party’s motions in a case concerning thousands of dollars alleged to be proceeds of drug trafficking.
In a civil case filed in the District Court of Guam earlier this year, the federal government is seeking to forfeit $47,380 in cash that was found on a man suspected to be a drug trafficker.
However, a motion was filed later by the claimant of the money, James Leigh F. Song, to dismiss the case. The federal government responded by filing a motion to strike the motion to dismiss. Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood will consider those motions today.
The cash was found on Song while at the Honolulu International Airport in October of last year. A total of $47,880 was found hidden in Song’s coat and wallet but $500 was returned for “humanitarian reasons,” court documents stated.
Song allegedly told authorities that the source of the money was from previous gambling wins at the House of Liberty and Funland, both establishments on Guam.
The cash was forwarded to a drug detection dog which was alerted to the presence of narcotics on the currency.
Court documents also include information on Song that he was convicted in the Superior Court of Guam in 2003 for possession of a Schedule II controlled substance and had been placed on probation.
Additionally, he was arrested in June of last year on charges of reckless driving and was found to have $1,800 in his possession along with two heat-sealed straws containing methamphetamine.
Fed court to hear claims on alleged drug money seizure
- Monday, 06 Aug 2012 03:30am
- BY GERALDINE CASTILLO | VARIETY NEWS STAFF
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