Actually not really. But an British man has been accused of smuggling nearly $24,000 inside 1 Xbox and 3 Playstation 2 consoles. Police were investigating reports of "circumvention devices," or modchips, when they found thousands of dollars in plastic bank bags where the hard drives should have been. The ELSPA (Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association) is the organization that actually found the money when they were looking for the illegal modification devices. £5,925 (about $$11,762) was found in the Xbox. Charges are being pressed as the authorities try to determine what the cash was going to be used for.
To read the full press release, click below.
Raid Nets Consoles Bundled With £12K Cash
Games console innards startle ELSPA investigators who find £12K cash stuffed inside.
Monday 28th January, 2008... A raid undertaken to investigate a man operating an illegal business selling Sony PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) SD memory cards and chipping offences resulted in the discovery of over £12,000 in cash stuffed into a single original Microsoft® Xbox® console and three PlayStation®2 consoles.
Following the raid at a man’s house in Tower Hamlets on Monday 14th January the incredible discovery only came about when the consoles, seized by Tower Hamlets Trading Standards investigators and officers from the Metropolitan Police, were handed over to ELSPA (the Entertainment & Leisure Software Publishers Association) IP Crime Unit investigators.
Following standard protocol, the ELSPA investigators began removing the casing of each of the four consoles with the intention of checking for evidence of circumvention devices (chips) and tampered hard drives when they discovered several plastic bank bags – each containing thousands of pounds sterling in note form.
The Xbox contained a staggering £5,925 where the hard drive should have been and the three PlayStation2s each volunteered £2,835 £2,025, and £1,425 respectively, making a grand, wallet-bulging total of £12,210 recovered.
Cash discovery aside, the man had been selling PSP games on SD memory cards (he was caught in possession of an estimated 75) and providing an Xbox and PlayStation 2 chipping service. Consequently, a POCA (Proceeds Of Crime Act) investigation has already started to estimate the criminal gain from his illegal activities.
Michael Rawlinson, managing director of ELSPA, commented: “I’ve heard it all now. It never ceases to amaze ELSPA and its investigators the lengths criminals go to make money – and always to the detriment of honest, hard working businesses. I congratulate Tower Hamlets Trading Standards on bringing to an end this illegal business operation.â€
