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SOCU confiscates over $9M from drug convict
Convicted: John DaSilva (left) and Kevin Gordon.
Kaieteur News – The Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU), earlier this month secured an order from the High Court to confiscate over $9M in total from a drug convict, on the grounds that the currency is the profits of crime.
According to the police, on November 13, 2020, SOCU secured the confiscation order from Justice Navindra Singh for the forfeiture of specified property, $9,713,400 seized and detained from Kevin Gordon.
Three years after he was charged for trafficking a quantity of cocaine, Gordon of Jib Housing Scheme, Essequibo, and his accomplice, John DaSilva, a farmer of Pomeroon River, Essequibo Coast, were earlier this year sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined $99,701,700.
In the handing down of his ruling, Justice Singh also ordered the State to transfer the currency to the consolidated fund as provided for pursuant to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act Cap 10:11, and for Gordon to pay cost of $1,500,000 on or before December 18, 2020, to SOCU.
According to the facts, on Sunday May 28, 2017 around 08:52 hours, at Parika, East Bank Essequibo, ranks from the Customs Anti -Narcotics Unit (CANU), conducted a search on a haversack that Gordon was carrying and discovered a quantity of narcotics and cash.
Gordon denied ownership of the money and told the officers that it belonged to a man named Deon Williams. Gordon was arrested and subsequently convicted for the narcotics. It is reported that Williams told the officers that the money belonged to him and that it was from the sale of fuel.
However, the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU) charged Williams since he was not licenced to deal in petroleum and petroleum products. The court was satisfied with the evidence that was presented and that there was a breach in the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) Regulation and gave judgment in favour of SOCU by ordering confiscation of the cash as part of the proceeds of crime.
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