Drug Trafficking Act 1994

19 Powers of High Court where defendant has absconded or died

(1) Subsection (2) below applies where a person has been convicted of one or more drug trafficking offences.

(2) If the prosecutor asks it to proceed under this section, the High Court may exercise the powers of the Crown Court under this Act to make a confiscation order against the defendant if satisfied that the defendant has died or absconded.

(3) Subsection (4) below applies where proceedings for one or more drug trafficking offences have been instituted against a person but have not been concluded.

(4) If the prosecutor asks it to proceed under this section, the High Court may exercise the powers of the Crown Court under this Act to make a confiscation order against the defendant if satisfied that the defendant has absconded.

(5) The power conferred by subsection (4) above may not be exercised at any time before the end of the period of two years beginning with the date which is, in the opinion of the court, the date on which the defendant absconded.

(6) In any proceedings on an application under this section—

(a) section 4(2) of this Act shall not apply;

(b) section 11 of this Act shall apply as it applies where the prosecutor asks the court to proceed under section 2 of this Act, but with the omission of subsections (5), (7) and (8);

(c) the court shall not make a confiscation order against a person who has absconded unless it is satisfied that the prosecutor has taken reasonable steps to contact him; and

(d) any person appearing to the court to be likely to be affected by the making of a confiscation order by the court shall be entitled to appear before the court and make representations.

(7) Subject to subsection (8) below, section 9 of this Act applies in relation to confiscation orders made by the High Court by virtue of this section as it applies in relation to confiscation orders made by the Crown Court and, for that purpose, references to the Crown Court in the provisions of the 1973 Act referred to in subsection (1) of that section (except in section 32(1)(b) of that Act) shall be construed as references to the High Court.

(8) Where the High Court makes a confiscation order by virtue of this section in relation to a defendant who has died, section 9(1) of this Act shall be read as referring only to sections 31(1) and 32(1) of the 1973 Act.

(9) Where the High Court—

(a) has been asked to proceed under this section in relation to a defendant who has absconded, but

(b) has decided not to make a confiscation order against him,

section 14 of this Act shall not apply at any time while he remains an absconder.

(10) Where a confiscation order has been made in relation to any defendant by virtue of this section, section 15 of this Act shall not apply at any time while he is an absconder.