FILTHY LUCRE
A Case Study Involving the Chemical Detection
of Cocaine-Contaminated Currency
by
Ed Acheson
Department of Chemistry
Millikin University, Decatur, IL
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FILTHY LUCRE |
Part I - "Busted"
Tom Brown raced through the airport to catch his plane. A Landscape Management major at Illinois A&M, Tom was returning to school after Christmas break. He was in a particularly good mood because Grandma Brown had given him $200 in cash as a Christmas present to spend "on something fun" at school. Tom had tucked the cash into his carry-on, which he held tightly in his hand. "I don't want to leave this bag out of my sight," he thought as he pondered ways he could spend the money.
He was suddenly jolted back to reality by a loud voice.
"Sir?"
"Yes," replied Tom.
"Officer Adams, Drug Enforcement Agency. You're under arrest. You have the right to remain silent...."
Tom didn't hear the rest of the words. His mind was racing. "What's going on here? What had he done?"
The voice of Officer Adams registered again. "Our drug sniffing dogs detected cocaine in your carry-on. You're under arrest on suspicion of drug trafficking."
"How could this be," Tom thought, as Officer Adams led him into a nearby interrogation room. "I've never had anything to do with drugs."
Background
This case study is based on an incident that happened in 1991. Willie Jones, a Nashville, Tennessee, landscaper, was arrested in an airport after dogs detected cocaine in his suitcase. Agents seized the suitcase, which contained $9000 in cash. Under the provisions of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) act, the government kept the money. The government argued that since the money was contaminated with cocaine, it must have been used in the commission of a crime, namely drug trafficking. Mr. Jones later sued the government for the return of the money. His defense: cocaine contamination of money is now so widespread that detecting traces of it does not indicate it was used in drug trafficking.
Does Mr. Jones have a case (and, by extension, our friend Tom Brown)? Should the government return his money or not?
Discussion Questions
- What is the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) act?
- Why did Congress enact RICO and what is its intent?
- Do you think RICO was applied properly in Mr. Jones's case? Why or why not? Can you find other instances where RICO was applied in a court case? Was RICO applied correctly in these cases? Why or why not?
- What is cocaine? What is its chemical structure? How does cocaine affect the body?
- How are dogs trained and used to detect drugs? How sensitive are their noses? What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of using dogs to "sniff out" drugs?
- Mr. Jones's defense in this case was that cocaine contamination is so widespread that the mere presence of cocaine on money is not indicative of criminal activity. How widespread is cocaine contamination in our money?
- Put yourself in Mr. Jones's defense attorney's place. Design an experiment to determine what percentage of paper currency is contaminated with cocaine. Consider such things as: (1) Sampling; (2) The method of analysis to use; (3) What is "contamination"; (4) What level of cocaine in money indicates criminal activity; and (5) How reliable are the results you might obtain from your experiment.
- What is "sampling"? How do scientists obtain a representative sample from a group?
- How does money become contaminated with cocaine in the first place?
- If you were the judge in this case, how would you rule? Why?
Go to: Part II - Lab Work
Date Case Posted: 2/23/00 nas
