Assessment of proceeds of drug trafficking

(1) The court may, for the purpose of– (a) determining whether the defendant has benefited from drug trafficking; and (b) if he has, of assessing the value of the proceeds of drug trafficking for the purpose of making a forfeiture order under this Part, make assumptions set out in sub-section (2) except to the extent that any of the assumptions are shown to be incorrect in the defendant’s case. 49 (2) The assumptions referred to in sub-section (1) are– (a) that any property appearing to the court– (i) to have been held by the defendant at any time since he was charged with a drug trafficking offence; or (ii) to have been transferred to him at any time since the beginning of the period of six years ending when the proceedings were instituted against him, being proceedings for the drug trafficking offence in respect of which an application for forfeiture is made pursuant to this Part, hereinafter referred to as “the relevant proceedings”, was received by him, at the earliest time at which he appears to the court to have held it, as a payment or reward in connection with drug trafficking carried on by him, Provided that the period of six years mentioned in this sub- section shall not include any period prior to the commencement of this Act– (b) that any expenditure of his since the beginning of that period was met out of payments received by him in connection with drug trafficking carried on by him; and (c) that, for the purpose of valuing any property received or assumed to have been received by him, such property was received by him free of any other interests in it. (3) For the purpose of assessing the value of the defendant’s proceeds of drug trafficking in a case where a forfeiture order has previously been made against him, the court shall leave out 50 of account any of the proceeds of drug trafficking that are shown to the court to have been taken into account in determining the amount to be recovered from him under the forfeiture order.