A. Seizure of money, property or things (section 56 of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance)

A. Seizure of money, property or things (section 56 of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance) 

Under section 56 of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Cap. 134), the court may order the forfeiture of any money or thing (other than premises, a ship exceeding 250 gross tons, an aircraft, or a train) used in commission of, or in connection with an offence under the Ordinance, or a drug trafficking offence under the Drug Trafficking (Recovery of Proceeds) Ordinance (Cap. 405).  Any money or property received or possessed by any person as a result of these offences may also be liable for forfeiture.  Such order for forfeiture may be made whether or not any person has been convicted of such offences.  

On the other hand, section 3 of the Drug Trafficking (Recovery of Proceeds) Ordinance (Cap. 405) concerns the confiscation of benefits derived from drug trafficking. It empowers the court to order a person who has been convicted and sentenced for a drug trafficking offence as defined under that Ordinance, and on the application of the Secretary for Justice, to pay any benefit, such as payment or reward, derived from the drug trafficking enterprise under a Confiscation Order. 

For example, if a person uses a car to transport dangerous drugs, the court may order the car to be forfeited under section 56 of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, because it was used in connection with the commission of a drug offence. If $100,000 in cash is found and shown to be used as payment for the shipment of dangerous drugs, the court may also order that cash to be forfeited. This order under section 56 of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance focuses on specific property connected with the offence, and may be made whether or not any person is convicted. 

By contrast, if the person is convicted and sentenced for a drug trafficking offence, the Secretary for Justice may apply for a Confiscation Order under section 3 of the Drug Trafficking (Recovery of Proceeds) Ordinance. If the court finds that the person obtained a benefit of $1 million from drug trafficking, it may order him to pay that amount, even if the original money has already been spent or cannot be located. This order under section 3 of the Drug Trafficking (Recovery of Proceeds) Ordinance focuses not on a particular item of property, but on recovering the value of the benefit obtained by the convicted offender.