Bitcoins Seized In Drug Bust 198
First time accepted submitter Salo2112 writes "In a case believed to be the first of its kind, federal authorities have seized a Charleston man's virtual currency due to an alleged drug law violation with possible links to a shadowy online black market. From the article: 'The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration recently posted a forfeiture notice indicating that agents had seized 11.02 Bitcoins worth $814 from 31-year-old Eric Daniel Hughes for allegedly violating the federal Controlled Substances Act. No other details were provided.'"
It was bound to happen (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm surprised it took so long.
Re:It was bound to happen (Score:4, Insightful)
Yes, but only because the USA's Federal Government hates competition.
Re:It was bound to happen (Score:4, Insightful)
And have a good backup. Even if the seized money is encrypted, it's still seized and unlikely to be returned.
Who Cares?? (Score:2, Insightful)
Why is every minutiae associated with Bitcoin posted on the front page here?
This is not news for nerds. Criminals will always look for ways to hide money, whether it is in hard cash, diamonds, or even bitcoin it is not new.
Stop this nonsense now.
Re:It was bound to happen (Score:4, Insightful)
Why is this statement modded down? It's a perfectly legitimate assessment of the flow of money and labor. If people were allowed to trade their own labor or goods without having to invoke the mandatory use of Federal Reserve notes/bits it would be much more difficult for the USA's Federal Government to put a toll on that transaction. Indeed Bitcoin is a competing currency that allows people to bargain directly with one another which the Federal Government would interpret as competition - in much the same way Taxi unions in Houston declared bicycle rickshaws as "stealing" from them and had the rickshaws regulated out of existence. The US Government - unlike the Taxi Union - sees ALL business transactions done without them as competition and since they have direct law making power will address such things directly.
Re:It was bound to happen (Score:2, Insightful)
Which part of "Bitcoins seized in drug bust" did you and GP miss to dive into "It's a plot against Bitcoin!" rant? What would you rant about if the title was "VPN access credentials seized in drug bust", "Truecrypt volumes seized in drug bust", "Microsoft Windows installation seized in drug bust", "iPhone seized in drug bust", "Pair of blue socks seized in drug bust", ...?
I'd say mod whole this story as offtopic.
Re:It was bound to happen (Score:5, Insightful)
Surely you mean the moron with Insightful mod?
"Guy got caught dealing drugs, got his posessions confiscated, there were Bitcoins in there" - "It's because govt hates Bitcoin!"
FFS, from items in other case in the seizure notice:
13-DEA-582125, Snap-On Tool Cabinet and Assorted Tools, (1) Snap-On Rolling Tool Cabinet, #:s437254a; (6)
Assorted Testers; (1) Snap-On 8 piece 1/2" Rachet/Wrench Set; (1) Snap-On 4 piece 1/2" Rachet/Wrench Set; (36)
Assorted Screwdrivers; (16) Speciality Tools; (32) Assorted Allen Wrenches; (56) Assorted Sockets 3/8"; (22) Socket
Extensions 3/8"; (1) Adapter 1/2" - 3/4"; (11) Assorted Rachets/Wrenches; (1) Nut Driver 1/4"; (1) Allen Tool Combo;
(1) Ryobi Drilling and Driving Accessory Kit; (36) Assorted Rachets/Wrenches/Sockets; (5) Assorted Snap-On Tools;
(4) Assorted Rachet/Extensions; (8) Assorted Vice Grips/Wrenches; (1) Blue Point Rachet Wrench Set 5/16"-3/4";
(68) Assorted Combination Wrenches; (1) Snap-On Box End Combo 7/8"; (3) Assorted Wrench Sets; (1) Roberts
Knee Kick Carpet Stretcher 10-412; (1) Snap-On 3x5 Toy Tool Box; (1) Ryobi Temperature Sensor, #:CW1112; (9)
Government hates wrenches!
captcha: deluding - it surely knows.
Re:It was bound to happen (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:It was bound to happen (Score:5, Insightful)
You don't have to convicted of anything to have your property stolen by the government. It has eminent domain over everything you have, including the corpse you presently occupy.
Re:Horrible Summary (Score:3, Insightful)
Can we at least make sure stuff is adequately summarized before it hits the front page?
As already said, you must be new here.
For the record, it was in South Carolina.
Umm, what the heck? When a name like "Charleston" is just given without any other qualifier, it's obviously referencing the most well-known city with that name, i.e., the one in South Carolina.
Given that the "U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration" is explicitly mentioned, the summary automatically rules out your localities in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK, so listing those as possible interpretations of the summary is ridiculous and ignorant.
And while, yes, there is possibly one other well-known Charleston on your list (the capital of West Virginia), the rest of the members on your list of U.S. cities are not generally known widely enough that they would be recognized by a wider audience without qualification.
I'm not from the South, nor have I lived most of my life in the southern U.S., but if I said the name "Charleston" to just about anyone I know, without further qualification, they would assume I'm talking about Charleston, SC (unless context suggested otherwise).
When someone says "New York" in an article, you don't assume they are talking about New York in Linconshire in the UK [wikipedia.org], nor do they think you might be talking about New York, Kentucky [wikipedia.org] or New York, Texas [wikipedia.org]. Similarly, a story about "Los Angeles" shouldn't leave the reader befuddled about whether we're talking about Los Angeles, Texas [wikipedia.org], let alone the much more significant city of Los Angeles in Chile [wikipedia.org]. If you're from West Virginia, I can understand being a little irked that the South Carolinian Charleston is more famous, but just about all of the other Charleston locations you listed in the U.S. are pretty insignificant, with most of them having populations of a few hundred to a couple thousand. Heck, you even listed Charleston, Arizona [wikipedia.org] and Charleston, Oklahoma [wikipedia.org], which are both freakin' ghost towns.
Next time, take two minutes and do some research by clicking the top link for "Charleston" in an internet search before pasting in an irrelevant list from Wikipedia that you didn't even bother to read.
Re:It was bound to happen (Score:5, Insightful)
In the War on Drugs in the US, the Police can and will confiscate all your property if you are accused of a drug felony.
FTFY
More crappy moderation. (Score:4, Insightful)
As I comment this is at a -1.
I would say not wanting to pay someone to violate your rights while monitoring and punishing your activities is a perfectly reasonable answer.
Re:It was bound to happen (Score:2, Insightful)
How about roads? What about an army? Or police? Fire departments? Those come from taxes. And if you try to argue "every transaction", then just think about how eager people are exploit every loophole they possibly can -- you exempt things from taxes, and people use those to the fullest (as they already do for deductions).
Re:Which country do you live in? (Score:5, Insightful)
There have been more than one case of a police officer (often chief or higher-up) that ordered a raid of a house, no drugs found, house still seized, then used as an undercover or safe house that made it functionally that officer's house. When you give financial incentive to bad behavior, then the bad behavior is encouraged, even if that wasn't the goal.
There are simple fixes, but the governments don't ever agree to them. They like the for-profit seizures and tickets. The agency issuing fines (or seizures) shouldn't be the agency keeping the money. When you separate the money, you'll change the behavior. No matter how many speeding tickets the town issues, there will be no income from it. You'd see the speed traps decrease, and a greater focus on safety, rather than revenue. Make percentage-take camera systems illegal (where the company running the cameras gets a portion of the revenue). There are documented cases where they shortened yellow lights to catch more people, decreasing safety to get more revenue.
Money is causing corruption, so remove the money from the equation.