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Bill wants assets of convicted ‘ice’ peddlers to be forfeited
Sen. Sixto Igisomar (R-Saipan) is proposing a bill to allow the government to forfeit the assets of individuals convicted of supplying or distributing illegal drugs, particularly methamphetamine or “ice.”
Igisomar said Senate Bill 19-33 seeks to introduce stricter deterrents against those wanting to sell and distribute “ice.”
“We only need to look at the number of burglaries to see that ‘ice’ is becoming a big problem in the CNMI,” Igisomar said.
The bill proposes to forfeit “assets, moneys, negotiable instruments, securities, or other things of value.”
The forfeited funds will be deposited in a Department of Corrections revolving account to be expended at the discretion of the attorney general and the Department of Public Safety commissioner.
Earlier, a bill sought to allocate $300,000 to the DPS and the Department of Finance to supplement the drug enforcement efforts of the two agencies.
House Bill 19-48, introduced by Rep. Edwin K. Propst (Ind-Saipan), proposes that the additional funds come from the Commonwealth Alien Deportation Fund, created under Public Law 10-01.
H.B. 19-48 was recently introduced during a House session on Rota last week.
Propst earlier said the use of crystal methamphetamine or “ice” continues to be a growing problem in the CNMI, reaching “epidemic proportions within our villages and borders.”
According to Propst’s proposed bill, $200,000 will be allocated to the Special Operations Section (narcotics unit) of the Commonwealth Bureau of Investigation, a sub-agency under the DPS.
The proposed fund is expected to be used for intelligence operations such as confidential informant services, evidence, and information, as well as technical equipment, including field drug identification kits.
