A 33-year-old man was arrested Monday at a Nashville airport after drug-sniffing dogs smelled narcotics on him and police discovered $153,000 in cash stuffed into his suitcase, Reuters reports, and is currently facing money laundering charges.
After Conor Guckian paid $20,000 in cash to charter a private plane from Nashville to California, he was reported to airport police for being a "suspicious individual," according to the police affidavit released Tuesday. A K-9 unit smelled narcotics on Guckian's suitcase, police waited for him to arrive to board his plane.
When confronted, Guckian claimed that he was transporting the money to buy gold in California, consenting to a second search of his bag. The drug-sniffing dogs detected the odor of narcotics on the cashand as the affidavit reads, "the manner in which the U.S. currency was wrapped is consistent with that of drug proceeds."
Guckian told police he was chartering a private plane as he had thought it would be a safer way to transport large sums of cash. He first told police he was in the area to visit a friend, but later said he was there because Nashville flights were cheaper. It is yet unclear where Guckian lives. He was previously arrested in New York for possession for resale of cocaine, according to Reuters.
