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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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Court Deals Blow To Seizure Of Drug Assets
Guardian, The
Saturday 14 Oct 2000 Website: http://www.newsunlimited.co.uk/guardian/ Author: Gerard Seenan COURT DEALS BLOW TO SEIZURE OF DRUG ASSETS Government attempts to crack down on the drugs trade by seizing the assets of convicted dealers were dealt a severe blow yesterday when a Scottish court ruled confiscation orders were in breach of human rights law. A panel of three judges at the court of appeal in Edinburgh ruled that the orders contravened the European convention on human rights as they required convicted criminals to prove they had made their money lawfully. The three judges said that this took away the presumption of innocence, but a spokesman for the crown office said it was considering an appeal. The ruling was made after lawyers acting for Robert McIntosh, a convicted drug trafficker, challenged a confiscation order which was made under the Proceeds of Crime (Scotland) Act. McIntosh, 38, from Greenock, was jailed for four years at the high court in Paisley in June 1999 after pleading guilty to supplying heroin. A spokesman for the Scottish executive said it would continue its drive to confiscate profits made on the back of illegal activity, and in the light of yesterday's ruling, would look at ways of amending current legislation.
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