Drug Abuse And Control Act Of 1970: A Case Study

There are a significant number of laws implemented polices that governs the procedures of assets forfeiture. Some of the laws implemented are the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), the Money Laundering Control Act (MCLA), Controlled Substances Act (CSA), which mostly concerns criminal asset forfeitures. In dealing with drug offenders, Congressed passed the Comprehensive Drug Abuse and Control Act of 1970. This Act is a form of civil asset forfeitures that presents the government with the authority power to “seize and forfeit illegal drugs, manufacturing and storage equipment, and conveyances used to transport drugs (“Police Briefing”, 1999).” This law covers the seizing of the alleged drug dealer’s property, home, and vehicles used to transport illegal substances, such as marijuana and cocaine.
Civil asset forfeiture is based on the idea that property involved “facilitates or is connected to a crime, and can be seized as evidence by the government (“Police Briefing”, 1999).” Firstly, there must be probable cause established to arrest the individual and for the judge to issue a seizure warrant.
The alleged property that is connected to the crimes must be named in the seizure warrant in order for it to be seized by the police officers. Unfortunately, in order to retrieve the property, the owner of the property must establish a preponderance of evidence to prove that the property was not used to commit a
crime.