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Asset Forfeiture

To ensure that criminals do not benefit financially from their illegal acts, federal law provides that profits from drug-related crimes, as well as property used to facilitate certain crimes, are subject to forfeiture to the government. Since drug trafficking is a crime of greed, asset forfeiture is an effective weapon because it removes the profit from such illegal activities. Asset forfeiture can also financially disable drug-trafficking organizations. International drug traffickers use their wealth to purchase the very best state-of-the-art weaponry and communications equipment. Seizure of the drug profits prevents them from possessing such advanced equipment and makes it more difficult for them to thwart law enforcement efforts.

Not only are the profits of crime taken away from criminals through asset forfeiture, but the money is put into the Asset Forfeiture Fund, which is used to help crime victims and to fund law enforcement programs that further combat crime. For example, in Philadelphia, two federally forfeited properties that had been used as "stash" houses for drug organizations were recently transferred to an organization called United Neighbors Against Drugs. The properties now serve as a community center for drug abuse prevention, job skills training programs, and "safe haven" educational programs for neighborhood children.

Asset forfeiture has been a part of American jurisprudence since the founding of the nation. To protect citizens from the abuse of this power, federal civil forfeiture laws contain numerous protections. No property may be seized unless the government meets the standard of "probable cause" - the same standard of proof required to arrest a person or secure a warrant to search a person's home. Property is seized by the DEA only when it is determined to be a tool for, or the proceeds of, illegal activities such as drug trafficking, organized crime, or money laundering.