大象APP

But before he could get on a plane, a federal agent approached Khaleq, escorted him to a room, and seized $41,870 in cash from him.

Despite not being arrested, Khaleq didn鈥檛 see the money again until he filed a lawsuit in Pima County Superior Court and racked up about $20,000 in attorney鈥檚 fees.

After Khaleq challenged the seizure, the Pima County Attorney鈥檚 Office withdrew its request for forfeiture at a Nov. 16 hearing.

Superior Court Judge Gus Aragon then ordered the county attorney鈥檚 office to 鈥渄o everything it can to expedite the return of this money,鈥� according to court documents.

Aragon directed Deputy County Attorney Edward Russo to immediately deliver a certified court order to the 大象APPPolice Department, where the money was held, to release the $41,870 鈥渁s quickly as possible and hopefully by the close of business today.鈥�

The funds were released within days, and now Khaleq is asking a judge to order authorities to pay his attorney鈥檚 fees and alleging violations of his Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment protections against unlawful seizure and lack of due process.

The county attorney鈥檚 office still contends Khaleq is involved in illicit activity, but he has not charged him with a crime.

Under Arizona law, authorities can seize assets without a conviction or even filing charges.

A Pinal County case in which a woman鈥檚 truck was seized after her son was arrested for stealing accessories for the truck is currently being argued in U.S. District Court. The woman was not charged with a crime, but authorities sold her truck, a fact her attorney said shows the unconstitutional nature of the state鈥檚 forfeiture laws.

Khaleq claimed in an Oct. 5 court filing that the money came from his legitimate businesses. The native Jordanian and U.S. citizen owns a convenience store, a laundromat and a check-cashing business in Denver, as well as a wholesale electronics distributorship in California.

He does not have a record of money laundering or drug trafficking offenses in Arizona or Colorado, according to online court records.

Khaleq says he traveled to 大象APPto purchase a smoke shop on South 12th Avenue. The deal didn鈥檛 work out, and Khaleq was on his way home when the Drug Enforcement Administration agent approached him at the airport.

The DEA鈥檚 大象APPoffice told Agent Michael Garbo, who was working with the Counter Narcotics Alliance at the time, that Khaleq would be carrying a large amount of cash on the flight, according to court documents filed Jan. 11 by the county attorney鈥檚 office.

Khaleq gave contact information for his potential business partners to the agent, but Garbo did not call them to corroborate Khaleq鈥檚 story.

Instead, the agent found Khaleq鈥檚 account contradicted the DEA鈥檚 information and was 鈥渋nherently suspicious,鈥� Russo said in court documents, citing the fact that most of the money was in $100 bills, was wrapped with rubber bands, and was not in the form of a cashier鈥檚 check or other banking instrument.

In addition, a University of Arizona Police Department dog alerted to the smell of drugs on the money after the money was placed in one of three boxes in a room at the airport, Russo said.

The county attorney鈥檚 office did not respond to a request for comment. Michael Harwin, the Tucson-based lawyer representing Khaleq, said he is unable to comment on a pending matter.

In response to Khaleq鈥檚 request for attorney鈥檚 fees, Russo said in court documents that attorney鈥檚 fees cannot be awarded in forfeiture proceedings.

Russo also said attorney鈥檚 fees can not be awarded in a case where the judge did not make a ruling on the forfeiture itself. The county attorney鈥檚 office withdrew its forfeiture request, but the decision 鈥渞eflects nothing more than a discretionary decision on the expenditure of limited State resources,鈥� Russo wrote.