By Carolyn Reid
A domestic violence call last Thursday morning led to the arrest of an unidentified man after he was discovered to have nearly $30,000 in cash in his possession with no receipts or other proof of the income.
The unidentified man was taken into custody when Officer Brody Schmeng of the Falmouth Police Department was called to Wells Open Air Market by dispatch concerning a report that the caller’s husband had slashed her tires, and she wanted to press charges.
According to Police Chief Marty Hart, his officer served an emergency protection order on the suspect. When he was taken into custody, the money was found in his pockets.
Homeland Security Agents will be in charge of further investigation. At this time, he is facing the federal charge of Bulk Cash Smuggling. The National Bulk Cash Smuggling Center defines this charge as, “Whoever, with the intent to evade a currency reporting requirement, knowingly conceals more than $10,000 in currency or other monetary instruments on the person of such individual or in any conveyance, article of luggage, merchandise, or other container, and transports or transfers or attempts to transport or transfer such currency or monetary instruments from a place within the United States to a place outside of the United States, or from a place outside the United States to a place within the United States, shall be guilty of a currency smuggling offense.”
Bulk cash leads to suspicion of some sort of illegal trafficking.
Officer Brody Schmeng stands by the table displaying the money that was secured from the subject as he was brought into the station after a domestic violence call.
The cash was still being counted at the time this photo was taken. The amount at that time had been confirmed to be $28,000 plus. Small bills were yet to be counted, leading to the officers estimating the take at about $30,000.