Drug trafficker's overseas cash seized

In a Western Australian first, nearly $400,000 has been seized from the offshore bank accounts of a convicted drug dealer and declared drug trafficker.

Attorney General Jim McGinty said the successful seizure by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions cleared the way for more money to be taken from overseas accounts.

"We are hitting criminals in the hip pocket and giving their cash and assets back to the community to help combat the damage caused by their illegal activities," Mr McGinty said.

"Our criminal asset confiscation laws are the toughest in Australia and drug dealers can't expect to squirrel their money away in overseas accounts and then count on it still being there when they get out of jail.

"Tony Ness was arrested in Glendalough in 2005 after police found him with 55.57 grams of methylamphetamine, $5,480 in cash, electronic scales and a cutting agent which would have doubled the amount of the drug.

"In August 2006, he was jailed for two years for possessing drugs with intent to sell or supply.  The court officially declared Ness a drug trafficker.

"Investigations by the Proceeds of Crime Squad showed that before Ness was charged, he had transferred money to various entities which he controlled in New Zealand and Vanuatu.

"Ness - who is now 69 - claimed the offshore scheme had been devised by his accountants and business advisers, including Robert Agius, who was recently arrested in Perth and extradited to Sydney to face fraud charges related to money laundering.  Ness claimed he wanted to reward his three daughters and protect the funds from possible legal claims from one of his sons.

"In February this year, Justice McKechnie ordered that $398,390.66 be transferred to DPP under the proceeds of crime laws.  He rejected Ness's lawyer's submission that Ness was unable to get the funds because he no longer had control of them.

"Justice McKechnie said the court clearly had the power under the Criminal Property Confiscation Act 2000 to confiscate all the property of a declared drug trafficker, including offshore property, property given away, or property effectively controlled by the drug trafficker even though it had never been in his or her name.

"He ordered $375,000, together with interest taking the total to nearly $400,000, to be repatriated back to Australia."

Mr McGinty said this outcome was a terrific win for the DPP Confiscation Team and WA Police.

"This serves as a grim warning to others thinking of trafficking in drugs as to just how powerful the Criminal Property Confiscation Act is," he said.

"Upon being convicted of dealing drugs, people are declared drug traffickers and their property can be confiscated.  Even property which has been paid for by parents, relatives or others connected to them can be seized."

The majority of the funds are used to provide grants of up to $100,000 to not-for-profit community groups and local governments for projects which aim to reduce drug abuse or drug-related crime, support victims of crime, or for community safety and crime prevention purposes.

In 2007, the program funded 60 projects totalling $3.8million.  More than $7.5million has been given out since the program began in 2003.