“Ayala was never charged with a crime in relation to the cash; nonetheless, a Montana judge ruled last fall that he could not receive his money back. Ayala’s cash is just part of the $172,000 in drug forfeiture funds the Montana Highway Patrol has spent since 2013.”
“The practice of asset forfeiture is common throughout the United States. Critics call it “policing for profit.” The Washington Post reports that police have seized at least $2.5 billion since 2001 from “people who were not charged with a crime and without a warrant being issued. Police reasoned that the money was crime-related.”
