Arima magistrate orders forfeiture of $42,000

AN Arima magistrate has ordered the forfeiture of $42,000, which police seized from the home of a 66-year-old man four years ago.

The cash was taken by police on May 12, 2014, during an investigation which took them to the man’s home in Arima.

Afterthe seizure, acting Cpl Roger Boodoo, of the Financial Investigations Branch (FIB), investigated the source and legitimacy of the money.

A statement from the police said when the probe was completed, they sought a forfeiture order at the Arima Magistrates’ Court.

Senior Magistrate Gillian Scotland ruled that the State had successfully proven its case that the $42,000 was derived from specified offences under the Income Tax Act, Chapter 75:01, an ordered the cash to be forfeited.

According to the FIB, between October 2012 and May 1, 2018, the courts ordered a total of $418,387.40, US$138,520 and EC$28,000 in cash to be forfeited.