Brisbane man nabbed with $4.35m cash in car during routine traffic stop

A Brisbane man has been granted bail on a tainted property charge after a routine traffic stop unearthed $4.35 million of cash in his car.

ABC

Jul 08, 2020, updated Jul 08, 2020

Police said Simon Andrew Cross, 37, was driving along the Pacific Motorway at Eight Mile Plains on Tuesday morning when he was pulled over.

The Brisbane Magistrates Court heard a search of his car revealed $1.75 million in cash stacked inside a suitcase and $2.61 million in a cardboard box.

Police said an investigation to determine the “origin” of the money was ongoing but they had charged Mr Cross with one count of receiving tainted property.

Mr Cross’s defence lawyer said he had no criminal history and had cooperated with police.

The police prosecutor told the court “normally with no history, it would be quite a snappy matter”, but the amount of the money “does change the flavour of the objection”.

Mr Cross was granted bail on a number of conditions, including that he must report to police twice a week, must surrender his passport, and not go within 100 metres of any international departure point.

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