Subj: UK: Drugs laws to copy US and Ireland 



Date:   Friday, October 2 1998



Source:    The Times (UK)





Drugs laws to copy US and Ireland 

BY RICHARD FORD 



THE clampdown on criminals who live in luxury with no

visible income is being adapted from American tactics

used to break the power of the Mafia. 



It is an admission that previous efforts to seize criminals'

assets have failed. Only UKP5m was seized under the Drug

Trafficking Offences Act last year, but the drugs trade is

estimated at UKP9.9 billion annually. Under existing law,

assets can be seized only after a conviction, and many

criminals transfer them to their families or associates. 



In the US the 1970 Racketeer and Influenced and

Corrupt Organisations Act has been credited with 23

Mafia convictions since 1981. It reversed the burden of

proof, so that suspects had to account for their assets. 



Mr Straw has also examined similar legislation passed in

the Republic of Ireland in 1996 in the aftermath of the

murder of the crime reporter Veronica Guerin. There, the

Criminal Assets Bureau, employing police officers,

revenue officials and social welfare officials, can seize the

proceeds of crime even where there has been no criminal

conviction. 



The owner must show that the property was not gained

from crime. The police and revenue have also been

permitted to exchange information.