B.C. MAN LAYS CLAIM TO $999,830 US FOUND IN RENTAL CAR

Police Discovered Cash After Stopping Driver For Speeding

Going a measly four miles per hour over the speed limit on a Nevada highway
could cost a B.C. man a cool million dollars.

Michael Andrew Simard has launched a legal bid to have $999,830 US in
cash returned after it was seized last Aug. 7 by Las Vegas police, who
found the bills in the trunk of his rental car after he was pulled
over for going 79 m.p.h. in a 75-m.p.h. zone.

The U.S. Attorney's Office is blocking Simard's claim, arguing they
have evidence he was involved in moving smuggled drugs or drug money
- -- even though he has not been charged and was allowed to return to
Canada.

U.S. officials want the confiscated cash -- 49,941 $20 bills, 100 $100
bills and two $5 bills -- to be forfeited to their federal government
and split between the agencies involved in the seizure.

According to court documents, Simard claimed that he had no idea where
the cash came from and he wrote a voluntary roadside police statement
that stated: "Bags aren't mine. Money isn't mine." Simard flew from
Montreal to Newark, N.J., on Aug. 5 and then travelled to St. Louis,
where he picked up his Hertz rental car with a final destination of
Las Vegas to play craps with friends, according to court documents.

He was stopped for speeding on Interstate 15 while driving toward Las
Vegas, and police became suspicious that he was a drug smuggler due to
his rental car, two cellphones, two GPS tracking devices, snacks and
the fact he was driving on a highway known for drug traffickers,
according to documents.

A drug dog was brought in and it smelled "an unknown controlled
substance" on the blue canvas suitcase and blue duffel bag containing
the cash, but no drugs were found.

Simard was released and flew back to B.C. five days later, while the
money stayed with law-enforcement officials in Nevada.

Mike Flanagan, head of Drug Enforcement Administration in Nevada, said
millions of dollars are seized every year but this is one of the biggest.

Simard could not be reached for comment.