Travelers in Atlanta have accused plain-clothed drug task force officers of unfairly targeting them and seizing millions in cash, according to a local report.
Law enforcement in the task force, which includes U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents and Clayton County Police, walk gate to gate at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and, without warrants, search travelers bags for drugs, according to Atlanta News First. But the task force rarely finds drugs and instead seizes wads of cash without making arrests, the local outlet reported.
“He just approached me and he asked me for my ID,” Tabari Sturdivant, a film director, told Atlanta News First. “He didn’t state who he was. He just asked me for ID, and I thought he was a Delta agent. He had airport credentials on, and so I gave it to him immediately.”
THE FBI TOOK HER LIFE SAVINGS. NOW SHE’S FIGHTING TO HELP OTHERS GET THEIRS BACK.
Atlanta News First published videos of plain-clothed officers conducting drug searches in the Atlanta airport. One shows a man in jeans and a backpack standing over a traveler unpacking his bag in front of a crowd at his gate.
Sturdivant told Atlanta News First he was approached and searched before his flight to Los Angeles last year. He was unaware he was speaking with DEA agents. He said they asked him about drugs and cash as they searched his bag at the gate. He was eventually cleared and boarded his flight.
THE FBI TOOK HER LIFE SAVINGS, BUT SHE WASN’T CHARGED. HER STORY BELOW:
FBI SUED AFTER ALLEGEDLY LOSING HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS IN RARE COINS DURING RAID
“‘Are you high? Have you smoked? Do you have any drugs in this bag? Do you have any money?'” Sturdivant recalled the agents asking him.
If task force agents find cash, travelers may be forced to provide bank statements from their phones to prove the money isn’t related to drug trafficking, according to Atlanta News First.
Travelers can file a claim for the government to return their money, but it can…
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