The Financial Investigations Division (FID) has secured a cash settlement of J$1.5 million and the surrender of a 2013 Toyota Corolla Axio as part of ongoing asset-recovery proceedings arising from a drug-trafficking matter prosecuted in Manchester.

The settlement follows an incident on July 25, 2024, when a team from the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Firearm and Narcotics Investigation Division (FNID), acting on intelligence and supported by a highway patrol team, intercepted the Toyota vehicle being driven by Mahlon Davis in the vicinity of Hatfield, Manchester. During the search, officers reportedly found packaged vegetable matter resembling cannabis and two concealed rectangular parcels marked “NASA” containing substances resembling cocaine.

When Davis appeared in the Manchester Parish Court, he was convicted of multiple offences under the Dangerous Drugs Act, including trafficking and possession of ganja and cocaine. He was fined $105,816 or six months’ imprisonment for trafficking in ganja; $15,000 or six months’ imprisonment for possession of ganja, $500,000 and four months’ imprisonment (suspended for two years) for trafficking in cocaine, and $500,000 or six months’ imprisonment for possession of cocaine.

Following the criminal proceedings, the matter proceeded to the Manchester Circuit Court for the hearing of an application for forfeiture and/or a pecuniary penalty order under Section 5 of the Proceeds of Crime Act. A Statement of Information filed on January 8, 2026 assessed the total benefit of the general criminal conduct at J$5,130,166.00.

As part of settlement discussions, the defendant accepted terms including payment of J$1.5 million (via manager’s cheque made payable to the Accountant General’s Department), and the surrender of the vehicle free of all obligations, with the certificate of title duly endorsed to the FID. The settlement also requires that the defendant settle the estimated outstanding loan balance of J$98,000, plus any additional accrued interest, to the relevant financial institution associated with the vehicle’s purchase.

The court has further endorsed an order directing the commanding officer at the local FNID station in Mandeville to hand over the vehicle to the enforcing authority upon service of the formal order.

In commenting on the outcome, Courtney Smith, the FID’s director of legal services noted: “This outcome reinforces the principle that criminal conduct must not be allowed to generate lasting benefit. Through the Proceeds of Crime framework, we continue to pursue recovery action that is lawful, evidence-based, and focused on disrupting criminal enterprise, while ensuring that proceeds and assets linked to offending are addressed through due process.”