Convicted drug runner ordered to pay $17.5 million in penalty to the state

Convicted drug runner Ralph Gregg has been ordered by the court to pay more than $17 million to the state as a penalty for his drug activity.

This after the Home Circuit Court upheld an application for a pecuniary penalty order under the Proceeds of Crime Act by the Financial Investigations Division (FID).

The provision allows the agency to seek a court order imposing a penalty on convicted drug offenders.

In April 2013 Gregg was convicted of possession of cocaine and dealing in cocaine and following the conviction, the FID filed an application in the circuit court asking it to consider the benefit he had obtained from his criminal conduct.

The FID argued that a forfeiture investigation showed that Gregg has several deposit accounts and assets, which he derived from his criminal lifestyle.

Gregg argued that his assets and expenditures came from his legitimate employment as a carpenter in Canada.

However, the court dismissed his argument on the grounds that he produced no documentary evidence of his legitimate earnings and that he was not a credible witness.

Gregg was ordered to pay the pecuniary penalty in the sum of 17 point 5 million dollars.

The money is to be paid over to the Crown by August 28.

Commenting on the ruling, the FID noted that this is the first pecuniary penalty order that has been obtained by the agency and the first pecuniary penalty order that has been made in Jamaica.

It said it would continue to use every effort and tool at its disposal to take the profit out of crime.

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