Release of Money Seized under the Drug Trafficking Act 1994
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/002201839906300604 |
| Published date | 01 December 1999 |
| Date | 01 December 1999 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Release
of
Money
Seized
Under
the
Drug
Trafficking
Act
1994
Release of Money Seized Under the Drug Trafficking Act
1994
Commissioners
of
Customs
and
Excise
v
Harris
(1999) 163 JP
408
The appellant in this case was waiting at Heathrow airport for a flight to
Colombia
when
aroutine security search of passengers revealed the fact
that
he was carrying US
$95,000.
When
questioned about the origin
and
proposed use of the money, he stated that he was a musician
and
the
head of a band and that the
money
was partly an advance from a
recording company
and
partly the profit from the band's
tour
of Europe.
He said that the money was being brought to Colombia for the purchase
of a house in which he
and
his Colombian wife proposed to live. The
money
was seized
under
s42 of
the
appellant left for Colombia, having received a formal notice of the
seizure
and
of the application which would be made for its further
detention:
The magistrates extended the period of detention for three
months
and
alater application was
made
to
the
magistrates' court for
the continued detention of the money, while further investigations took
place. The appellant submitted that (1) there was no ground on which
the authorities could base their suspicions
other
than that Colombia is
the world's largest drug producer,
and
(2) the magistrates should release
so
much
of the money as was necessary to
meet
his legal expenses.
Section 42 (1) of the Drug Trafficking Act
1994
empowers acustoms
officer or a constable to seize
and
detain any cash worth
£10,000
or
more
which is being imported or exported into or
out
of the UK, if
it is reasonably suspected of being held in relation to drug trafficking.
Section
42(2)
authorises its detention for no more
than
48
hours,
but
a
justice of
the
peace may extend
that
period for three months. Where
money is
thus
detained, the court may release it if satisfied
that
there are
no longer grounds for its detention. Acustoms officer or constable may
also release it (for the same reasons), if he gives notice to the court.
If
proceedings are taken for the forfeiture of the money or if criminal
proceedings have been taken, the court may order the forfeiture of the
money seized
and
detained, if satisfied that it represents
the
proceeds of
drug trafficking. Where aforfeiture has been ordered
under
s43, an
appeal may be taken to the Crown Court within 30 days. Where such an
appeal is brought, it is expressly enacted that
the
court may
then
release
such sums from the money forfeited as are necessary to cover the legal
expenses of the appeal for which he was responsible.
In the present case, counsel argued that, before any order of forfeiture
had been made and any appeal therefrom had been made, the court
should order the release of some of
the
money, as the appellant had no
funds and could
not
obtain legal aid,
whether
the future proceedings
would be civil or criminal. He pointed
out
that there was nothing in Part
II of the
the
court
for the release of funds in connection with
any
proceedings which might
be brought before an ultimate appeal from an order for forfeiture.
T-o
deprive
him
of funds until after aforfeiture order had been made would
513
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