Christchurch couple fight to keep more than $200k cash they found in the ceiling of their home

Police said the money was likely the proceeds of crime. Photo / Unsplash

By Rachel Graham of RNZ

People will be discouraged from doing the right thing if a Christchurch couple who found more than $200,000 in the ceiling of their house do not get to keep any of the money, a court has heard.

The couple, whose names are suppressed, found the mystery money sealed in plastic bricks tucked in insulation at their property in 2021.

They reported the cash to the police who said the money should be forfeited because it was the proceeds of crime, probably from drug dealing.

At a High Court hearing on Monday, the couple’s lawyer Mike Lennard said they should keep the money because they had no part in any criminal activity and withholding the cash would discourage other people reporting similar finds to police.

“It will send a message to people in my client’s position, don’t co-operate with the police, don’t tell the police, just spend it. Just pay cash for your groceries for the next few years,” he said.

Lennard told the court homeowners get the “good and the bad” when they buy a house.

He said the Proceeds of Crime Act had a number of aims, including deterring criminal activity, but his clients had not broken the law.

Police lawyer Klaudia Courteney said the money was tainted by criminal activity and should therefore be forfeited to the Crown.

She said the case differed from occasions when someone found a wallet in the street, handed it in and later received the money if it remained unclaimed.

Courteney said the couple were immediately concerned the cash was a result of criminal activity and reported it to the police because of safety concerns.

“They weren’t just being good citizens. They were very concerned that it involved criminal activity and they were worried about who might turn up,” she said.

Courteney said police searched the property and installed security alarms because of the safety concerns and changed access to the attic so it was no longer accessible from the outside.

She said it was clear the couple thought the money was from criminal activity and therefore tainted.

Justice Osborne observed in a number of other countries when people had found drug money, a percentage of the cash could be returned to them.

If the couple had not handed the money in then the police would have nothing, he said.

“It seems to me odd for the Commissioner (of police) to take the position of an absolute no, there is no opportunity for relief, when there is a real public good here,” he said.

Justice Osborne reserved his decision.

- RNZ