Question: What is the exact timeline for this movie? Is it taking place at the same time that the Tokyo Drift is taking place? Or is it supposed to be before?
Answer: This film, as well as F5 and F6, are all prequels to Tokyo Drift and sequels to 2 Fast 2 Furious. We know this as Han supposedly died in Tokyo Drift (this is retconned in F9), but is alive and well in Fast and Furious, as if nothing ever happened, and the fact we never see Sean, Twinkie or anyone else from Tokyo Drift besides Han returning until Furious 7. The start of Furious 7 crosses over with the end of Tokyo Drift, and then it picks up where Tokyo Drift leaves off after Dom and Sean race each other.
Question: Why was the money wrapped up in aluminium foil?
Answer: When criminals transport large amounts of money, it is often wrapped in foil and plastic to protect it from accidental damage from liquids and fire. There is also an urban legend that wrapping it in foil will keep it from being detected by scanning equipment.
Chosen answer: It's a slightly tricky one to answer because the movie doesn't give very many clues. What we do know for a fact is the events at the start during and up to the conclusion of the Petroleum tanker heists was set before Tokyo Drift as evidenced by Dom speaking to Han with a view to returning back to Tokyo. After that it gets a little fuzzy. Some people claim the entire movie is before Tokyo Drift, but that simply cannot be the case as there are lots of 2008/2009 model cars around the movie, so the general consensus is the very start is before Tokyo Drift, and the time when Dom comes out of travelling/hiding and gets the phone call that Letty is dead is now after Tokyo Drift.
GalahadFairlight
This is not right. The entire movie takes place before "Tokyo Drift", as that is where Han dies. He is still around for the next two films and then dies in the seventh where events catch up with "Tokyo Drift" and then continues where it left off.
Yeah, Han's not dead either, he's back in the 9th movie.