An exotic dancer who had worked for years to save up one million dollars has successfully sued the government in order to get that money back after it had been confiscated in a traffic stop, according to the Associated Press.
Tara Mishra, 35, had given the money to Rajesh and Marina Dheri, friends of hers, who were planning to use the money to invest in a nightclub in New Jersey. The Dheris had the money seized after being pulled over for speeding in Nebraska.
Nebraska state troopers pulled over Dheri in March 2012 on Interstate 80 near North Platte for speeding after clocking him driving 93 mph in a 75-mph zone. After being questioned about where they were headed Nebraska State Patrol Trooper Ryan Haynes asked if they were carrying anything illegal in the car and if they would allow it to be searched, NBC News reports.
Upon receiving permission to search the car Haynes found a duffle bag containing $1,074,000. Mishra has packaged the money in bundles of $10,000 bound with hair ties. The Dheris were detained by Haynes and taken to a Nebraska State Patrol station where a drug dog was able to detect the "odor of controlled substances emanating from the currency," according to NBC News.
The Dheris were released without being charged but the money was seized. The U.S. Attorney's office said that the sum of money, the way it was stored, and the drug residue were all indicative of drug trafficking, according to NBC News.
U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon ruled that the since there was no other evidence of drug activity and that since Mishra was able to show that the money was hers through tax returns that the money should be returned to Mishra, according to ABC News.
"The government failed to show a substantial connection between drugs and the money," Bataillon wrote in his opinion. "The dog sniff is inconsequential...The court finds Mishra's story credible...Ms. Mishra did have control over the money and directed the Dheris to deliver the money to New Jersey for the purchase of the business."
The state was ordered to return the entire $1,074,000, with interest, to Mishra.
