'I just couldn't believe it:' Oklahoma officers seize Christian charity money

'This sort of thing is happening all the time.'

Christian rock band Klo & Kweh was driving through Oklahoma when they were pulled over for a broken headlight. What happened next was a shock that rippled throughout the Christian community.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - According to Christian Headlines, band member Eh Wah was driving to Texas after touring with the band.

The band had been on tour in nineteen cities to raise money for a Myanmar Christian college and Thailand orphanage.

As band's financial  manager, Wah held the cash proceedings during his journey through Muskogee County, Oklahoma, where he was pulled over for a broken taillight.

According to the deputy's affidavit, sheriff's deputies questioned Wah and, at some point, had a drug-sniffing dog inspect the vehicle.

The dog alerted the officers, who discovered $53,243 in cash.

The officers claimed Wah's story was inconsistent - with what they did not mention - and stated "Wah [was] unable to confirm the money was his." It was then seized "for evidence" and Wah was arrested "for charges to be filed for Possession of Drug Proceeds."

Interestingly, roughly $33,000 was earmarked for the religious college in Burma, $1,000 in cash donations to a Thailand orphanage in sealed envelopes with the orphanage's  name written across them, $8,00 in cash from CD and souvenir sales and a $9,000 cash gift to a band member from family and friends from Buffalo.

The cash gift was discovered in the bag he was asked to hold and Wah claimed he was unaware of it, but the rest of the cash was accounted for, as well as an extra $2,000 for the band's trip expenses.

Though the police dog alerted officers to the presence of drugs, none were found in the vehicle, nor were any weapons or drug paraphernalia discovered.

In an interview, Wah explained, "I just couldn't believe it. An officer was telling me that 'you are going to jail tonight.' And I don't know what to think. What did I do that would  make me go to jail? I didn't do anything. Why is he saying that?"

Unfortunately for Wah, English is his second language and he struggled to understand the officers as they attempted to understand him.

In an attempt to explain his situation, Wah had an officer contact one of the band's leaders, Saw Mervellous Soe, who had traveled to Miami while the band was on break.

In an interview, Marvellous shared, "The police officer started asking questions. I explained: 'We are a music team. We came here for a tour.'" He then attempted to explain the band's origins in Burma, but the officer "kept telling me, 'You are wrong, you are wrong.'

"I said: 'We are doing a good thing! And now you are accusing us of being like a drug dealer or something like that."

Wah stated: "I realized that they were seizing all of the money. I was like, 'This can't be happening.' But I didn't know what to do."

The property receipt claims the officers took the cash for suspicion of "possession of drug proceeds."

Rather than booking Wah or charging him with a crime, they sent him on his way. The seizure of the money is a "civil asset forfeiture," which is a law authorizing officers to seize cash and property from anyone suspected of a crime.

In most states, and under federal law, authorities are able to seize and keep the proceeds whether the person is convicted or not. Unfortunately, under civil forteiture, the burden of proof is placed on the property or cash owner, who must prove their innocence before they can have their property or money returned.

It just so happened that the road Wah traveled was known for drug trade traffic - but Wah is not going down without a fight.

Wah's attorney Dan Alban - who is working pro bono from the Institute of Justice - explained deputies took all of the cash but left a check written to him for $300 from a family friend. Alban questioned why the officers would leave the check if they believed the money was the result of drug proceedings.

"If the real purpose of the stop was to increase revenue, there's no point in keeping the check because they can't cash it."

Five weeks after stopping him, Muskogee County authorities charged Wah with "aqcuir[ing] proceeds from drug activity, a felon" and issued a warrant for his arrest.

Since the Institute of Justice stepped in on behalf of En Wah, the orphanage, the Christian school and the band, Oklahoma authorities have retreated and dropped the charges.

"We thought America was the best in the world," Wah said. "But unfortunately this happened, and it made us [think] like American police are the same as our police in Burma."

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