Man Arrested With $153,000 After Dogs Smell Drugs

A man was arrested with $153,000 at a Nashville airport yesterday after police dogs smelled narcotics on the large amount of cash he was carrying. 33-year-old Conor Guckian was detained after airport police were alerted to a “suspicious individual.”

Guckian initially aroused suspicion when he paid $20,000 in cash to charter a private jet to take him and his $153,000 to California. That kind of hefty cash payment reeks of illegal activity, usually drugs.

Police said that their special K-9 unit detected the smell of drugs on the many bundles of cash that Guckian had in his hand luggage bag.

The suspect willingly agreed to be searched by police a second time, and another dog also sensed the smell of narcotics on the 32 bundles of cash tied with rubber bands. The affidavit stated: “The manner in which the U.S. currency was wrapped is consistent with that of drug proceeds.”

When the suspect was asked why he was chartering the the private aircraft, he said he thought that it would be a safer way to transport the cash. He continued with his story that he came to Nashville to visit an old friend, but then changed his mind and said he was in fact there because flights were cheaper.

He admitted to the police that he had been arrested previously for the possession and resale of cocaine in New York. He revealed that he made sure his various bank accounts showed balances of less than $10,000 in order to avoid detection by authorities.

It remains to be seen what charges exactly will be brought against the suspect who was arrested with $153,000 in cash in his possession. It almost seems like something is missing from the story as one wonders why someone would think they could charter a jet for $20,000 in cash and then transport over $150,000 in bundles. Suspicious enough?