United States v. $831,160.45 UNITED STATES CURRENCY

AMENDED ORDER OF FORFEITURE

The present forfeiture action results from the seizure of a large sum of unreported currency by agents of the Department of Customs [Customs] as the money was being transported out of this country via San Francisco International Airport. The currency’s possessor having died in the interim, the remaining claimants contest the constitutional propriety of both the initial seizure and the ensuing forfeiture proceding, and have now moved for summary judgment on their claims. The United States, in turn, has filed a motion for summary judgment of forfeiture. These matters came on regularly for hearing before this Court, the Honorable J.P. Vuka-sin, Jr., presiding. Having considered the arguments of counsel, both written and oral, and all the pleadings submitted, the Court now issues this Amended Order of Forfeiture.

Facts

The material facts of this case are undisputed. On September 4, 1981, at shortly after one o’clock p.m., Sunthorn Kraitam-chitkul, a Thai national, presented himself at the Pan American ticket counter at San Francisco International Airport [SFO] and, using a ticket which had been purchased in his name the previous August 22 in Bangkok,…