$477,050 US found in duffel bag at the border

By Jason Van Rassel, Calgary Herald March 11, 2011

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/convicted+trying+launder+money/4421848/story.html

A man convicted Thursday of trying to smuggle nearly $500,000 in drug money into the country at an Alberta border crossing will find out his punishment when he's sentenced in May.

The guilty pleas entered by Joseph Dale Butler of St. Thomas, Ont. mark the first time authorities in Alberta have convicted anyone under federal anti-money laundering legislation since it came into force in 2003.

Butler's case dates back to 2009, but was moved toward its conclusion Thursday when he surrendered to the RCMP in Calgary, accompanied by his lawyer.

"We had a very strong case, and he decided to handle it on his own terms," said Sgt. Stephen Scott of the anti-money laundering unit.

Butler, 35, was entering Canada at the Coutts crossing south of Lethbridge on April 20, 2009 when the Canada Border Services Agency found $477,050 US stuffed inside a duffel bag hidden in a secret compartment built into a horse trailer.

Border officers became suspicious when Butler's answers to routine questions were inconsistent.

"The officers referred him for further inspection," CBSA spokeswoman Lisa White said.

The cash found in Butler's trailer was bundled into several bricks of small-denomination bank notes vacuum-sealed in plastic.

Authorities consider a large volume of low-denomination bills -especially $20 notes -as an indicator of money earned through small, street-level drug transactions.

Investigators later determined Butler picked up the money in Illinois prior to trying to re-enter Canada at Coutts, 100 kilometres south of Lethbridge.

While Butler admitted to ferrying drug money into Canada, Scott said it's not known if he had a greater role with the criminals he was working for.

"Anyone with half a million dollars is a highly trusted member of the organization," he said.

Butler is a farmer and rancher in southern Ontario who also ran a business hauling vehicles for automakers, said Scott.

It's not known if Butler was recruited to smuggle the money because of his experience with transport trucks.

"We have speculated about that," Scott said.

The Coutts case remains the largest seizure of undeclared cash ever intercepted at a Prairie border crossing,

In provincial court Thursday, Butler pleaded guilty to one count of laundering proceeds of crime under the Criminal Code, and a count of failing to report the importation of currency over $10,000 -an offence under the Proceeds of Crime and Terrorist Financing Act.

The law requires anyone entering Canada to disclose if they're carrying any amount of cash larger than $10,000.

Butler's sentencing hearing is scheduled to be held in Calgary provincial court on May 25.

In the meantime, he has been allowed to return to his home in St. Thomas, where he must abide by a curfew and report regularly to the Ontario Provincial Police.