THE U.S. government is seeking to seize thousands of dollars in cash that’s believed to be proceeds of drug trafficking.

A civil case was filed in the District Court of Guam in which the federal government seeks to forfeit $47,380 in cash that was found on a man suspected to be a drug trafficker. However, a motion has been filed by the claimant of the money to dismiss the case.

According to court documents, the money was found on local resident James Leigh F. Song while at the Honolulu International Airport on Oct. 11 of last year.

Initially, Song was asked if he was carrying more than $10,000, but he answered no. As Song underwent a secondary inspection, authorities discovered currency hidden in Song’s coat and wallet, totaling $47,880.

When asked about the source of the money, Song claimed he had won it from gambling a few nights previously, $25,000 at the House of Liberty and $40,000 in Funland, both establishments on Guam. He also stated that his place of employment was at “Scoot De Ville” where he was paid about $7 an hour and did odd jobs that brought in some additional income.

Court documents state Song purchased an airline ticket with $4,611.96 in cash for a round-trip from Guam to Los Angeles where he claimed to have intended to buy a truck while out there.

According to an affidavit filed by Department of Homeland Security Task Force Agent Peter Ungacta, Song admitted to using methamphetamine but claimed not to sell it. Of the $47,880 that was found on Song, $500 was returned to him for “humanitarian reasons,” and the $47,380 was retained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, court documents stated.

Seized

The following day the money was seized, a drug detection dog alerted to the presence of narcotics on the currency.

The affidavit also included the fact that Song was convicted in the Superior Court of Guam in 2003 for possession of a Schedule II controlled substance and had been placed on probation. He also was arrested in June of last year for reckless driving and was found to have $1,800 in his possession along with two heat-sealed straws containing a crystalline substance.

Because of Song’s records, Ungacta, through his experience, contends that the cash found on Song were proceeds of drug trafficking. The affidavit implied that Song may have not been a purchaser of methamphetamine hydrochloride, but rather a trafficker.

“There is no possible way that a person working a job paying $7 per hour would be able to afford any significant quantity of ice (meth),” Ungacta’s affidavit stated. “In my experience, drug traffickers have large amounts of cash which they accumulate from the sale of controlled substances. Song’s possession of $47,880 cash ... and his possession of $1,800 cash on June 2, 2011 is consistent with him being a drug trafficker.”

Because the money is suspected to be proceeds of drug trafficking, the federal government is seeking to forfeit the $47,880. Song has made a motion to dismiss the case, but the feds have responded by filing a motion to strike the motion to dismiss.

A hearing on those motions is scheduled for Aug. 6 at 9:30 a.m. before Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood.