KINGSTON, Jamaica – The crown is to receive J$4,201,500 following a ruling in the Clarendon Parish Court over the 2017 seizure of money in a narcotics operation.

The Financial Investigations Division (FID) says it helped secure the $4.2 million forfeiture through collaboration with the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s (JCF) Counter Terrorism and Organized Crime Investigation Branch (C-TOC) .

In February of that year, police officers from the Narcotics Division had intercepted a grey Toyota Altis allegedly linked to drug trafficking activities on the Mineral Heights main road in Clarendon.

Warren McLean, a labourer from Gimme-me-bit, Clarendon, was the lone occupant but claimed that Dennis McDonald, a cane farmer from Hayes district in the parish, had recently exited the vehicle.

The police found McDonald and requested his return to the scene where the men and the car were searched and a black plastic bag containing a large quantity of cash was found in the vehicle.

While McLean claimed that McDonald had placed the bag inside the car, McDonald denied any knowledge of it. Due to the conflicting accounts, the money was seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA).

In the years that followed, legal proceedings were initiated to determine the rightful ownership of the funds.

In February 2017, businessman Derrick Mitchell of Toll Gate, Clarendon, claimed the money belonged to him, gained from his various business ventures, including a bar and local gaming/lotteries dealership.

However, before the case could proceed, Mitchell was shot and killed at a bar in Clarendon in April 2022.

With Mitchell deceased, the court permitted the Administrator General’s Department to assume responsibility for representing his estate.

After concluding on January 31, 2024, the Court ultimately ruled in favor of the forfeiture, citing the lack of credible evidence to substantiate any lawful claim to the funds.

Commenting on the Court’s decision, FID’s Director of Financial Crimes Investigations Keith Darien noted, “This case highlights the importance of robust financial investigations in disrupting illicit financial flows which oftentimes support criminal activities. The successful forfeiture of these funds demonstrates the effectiveness of POCA in ensuring that unlawfully acquired wealth is removed from circulation and placed in the hands of the state.”