Management of Assets Confiscated under the Drug Offender Suppression Act of 1991 for the Narcotics Prevention and Suppression Fund

Abstract

          Management of assets confiscated under the Drug Offender Suppression Act of 1991 to be transferred the Narcotics Prevention and Suppression Fund is a process of asset management of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board when the court orders the confiscation of the property. This research aimed to answer the question of how the proceedings of confiscation of assets in drug cases to be vested in the Narcotics Prevention and Suppression Fund are handled. The researchers employed a qualitative research methodology by analyzing related documents and conducting by in-depth interviews of 13 key informants who were involved in the proceedings. The results show that confiscation of property in a drug case can be carried out in two ways: confiscation of property directly involved with the case and confiscation of property in connection with the case.  The results also show that the confiscation rate was higher than the rate of assets transferred to the Narcotics Prevention and Suppression Fund. This is because of long processing times and improper storage locations causing the property to deteriorate and decrease in value, and because of broad interpretation of confiscable properties. Therefore, for the confiscation of assets to be transferred to the Narcotics Prevention and Suppression Fund more effectively, the Narcotics Control Board should amend the law to specify that property can be forfeited if the property is directly related to the commission of the offense.