A Pennsylvania company is asking a federal court to return about $166,000 in proceeds from marijuana sales in Missouri that was seized by law enforcement in Kansas as the cash was on its way to Colorado.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Kansas filed the civil asset forfeiture case last month in the U.S. District Court in Wichita.
Federal prosecutors claim the money is subject to forfeiture because of alleged violations of a U.S. law against manufacturing and distributing drugs. The driver of the van, though, hasn’t been charged with any federal crimes in Kansas, U.S. District Court records show.
Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Bryson Wheeler, who is stationed in Kansas, wrote the affidavit detailing the allegations of the case.
The approximately $165,620 in cash was seized by Dickinson County Sheriff’s Deputy Kalen Robison during a May 18 traffic stop on I-70 near the Abilene exit. The money was in a Ford Transit van owned by Empyreal Logistics
Court documents don’t indicate whether the dispensaries sold medical marijuana, which is legal under Missouri law.
Driver stopped twice in two days
The driver said she was on her way to Kansas City and would collect the cash proceeds from marijuana businesses. The driver was released. The DEA then surveilled the driver “stopping at and entering multiple state marijuana dispensaries” on the Missouri side of the metro, according to the affidavit.
One day after the first traffic stop, Robison again pulled over the Empyreal van along the interstate in Dickinson County. The affidavit didn’t specify the reason for stopping the vehicle.
Law enforcement then seized five bags of cash, which the driver said were from multiple marijuana dispensaries in Kansas City. A drug dog later “alerted to the odor of marijuana coming from the currency,” the DEA agent wrote, and “marijuana is a controlled substance and illegal under both federal and Kansas state law.”
Empyreal Logistics is a Pennsylvania-based company. In court records, the company’s lawyers dispute claims that the money was connected to drug trafficking and subject to forfeiture.
“Plaintiff’s claims should be barred as the conduct which generated the Defendant property was lawful under Missouri state law and tacitly or affirmatively allowed by the action of the United States Federal Government,” the company’s lawyers wrote.
The Empyreal website advertises cash management.
“With our targeted technology, and low-profile, eco-conscious, armored vehicles, we can save you time and money,” the website states.
While a growing majority of of states have legalized medical marijuana, a smaller number have legalized recreational use. Missouri voters approved legalized medical marijuana by amending the state constitution via a ballot initiative in 2018.
Medical marijuana still illegal in Kansas
Kansas is one of about a dozen states where medical marijuana remains illegal, though a bill to create a medical marijuana program passed the Kansas House late last session.
Credit:Source link