Recent immigrants were shocked and horrified in equal measure to discover $232,440 sealed in vacuum-packed plastic bags hidden in the roof of their Christchurch home; surprised because it wasn’t theirs, horrified that publicity would attract a potentially violent home invasion by criminal elements seeking to recover the cash.
Police got a High Court order seizing the cash as ‘tainted.’ A later criminal proceeds hearing will determine who gets to keep the money.
Six months after purchase of their Christchurch home, a contractor completing work in the ceiling cavity found five sealed bags of cash hidden under insulation. This cache was hidden at the furthermost point from a manhole providing access.
Being predominately fifty dollar notes in bundles secured with rubber bands led the owners to suspect this cache was proceeds of drug dealing. They reported their find to the police.
Police enquiries of past owners and recent tenants found no-one either acknowledging ownership of the cash or with a criminal record likely to suggest ownership.
One past owner had a sibling with a drug conviction and known association with the Mongrel Mob. It was claimed he was unlikely to have ever visited the property. This sibling is now dead.
The initial proceeds of crime hearing, in which police gained authority to impound the money, is round one in what is a continuing dispute over who can keep it.
Police acknowledge the family have some grounds to claim ownership. The money was found on their property. They have rights to possession against all but the true owner.
The complication is that this money appears to be proceeds of crime; a fact acknowledged by the family when reporting their find to police.
A later High Court forfeiture hearing will decide how much, if any, of the cash is to be returned to its finders.
The High Court supressed both the name of the family and their address.
Commissioner of Police v. Unknown – High Court (24.07.24)
24.178