On the figures in the article: 62,000 seizures, half under $8800, total of $2.5 billion. Doing some rough calculations, assume 31,000 seizures of $8000 and that’s a total of $248 million. That leaves the other half of the seizures to make up the remaining $2.25 billion, or an average of more than $70,000 per seizure.

Is it typical in the US to carry cash in the tens of thousands of dollars? While I understand some people are unbanked, surely it is possible to open a bank account if you have tens of thousands to deposit. Leaving aside whether it is legal to seize the money or whether it is ethical to do so, is there a good reason why you would choose to walk around with, say, $100,000 in cash instead of a bank cheque or a a plastic card?