Police search for owner of cash left in back seat of Melbourne taxi

Police are hoping to return a wad of cash to its owner after a taxi driver found it in the back seat of his car.

The driver discovered the cash during a routine clean at the end of his shift and swiftly handed it over to police at Moorabbin police station in Melbourne‘s south.

Victoria Police Sergeant Michael Gridley told A Current Affair on Monday night that police had already received a few calls from people claiming the money belonged to them.

‘We’ve had a couple of calls in from people thinking that it may be their grandfather’s or someone from as far away as Ballarat,’ he said on Monday night’s program.

‘But at this stage, it’s all been speculation on their behalf and nothing to really lock us into believing that it is (their) money.’

Police would not disclose how much cash was left in the taxi, with the onus placed on the owner to prove it belonged to them.

The person will need to describe how the cash was packaged, prove how the money was withdrawn, and prove that they took a ride in the cab the money was found in. 

‘We’d also like to know how it was packaged, to help us identify that it’s definitely yours because there is no identification with it,’ Sergeant Gridley said. 

The rightful owner has three months to come forward to police and prove that the cash belongs to them before police will return the money to the taxi driver who found it. 

Sergeant Gridley said he hopes the story is a reminder to members of the community that turning into lost belongings to police is the right thing to do.

‘I’d like to think that most members of the community would do this if they came across this amount of money,’ he said.