6 days ago
Jersey officials seize nearly £800,000 from major British drug smuggler
Officials in Jersey have seized nearly £800,000 of criminal proceeds from a major drug smuggler.
Eitan Benzur, a British citizen, worked with others to supply 8.5 tonnes of cannabis from 2010 to 2014, with a combined street value of more than £9 million.
He concealed the significant amounts of cash in safety deposit boxes and by transferring money abroad.
After fleeing to Israel, he was eventually extradited to the UK in 2020 and was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court to nine years in prison.
His assets were confiscated in Jersey following a request from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the island's Attorney General.
£397,000 has been transferred to the UK Home Office, while the remaining £397,000 will be kept in a Jersey confiscation fund, which the Treasury Minister can ask to use for crime prevention measures.
Jersey's Attorney General, Mark Temple KC, says: "This case yet again demonstrates Jersey's ongoing commitment to assisting its overseas partners to ensure that criminals are denied the benefit of their criminal conduct."
Chief Crown Prosecutor for the CPS Proceeds of Crime Division, Adrian Foster, adds: "Thanks to our joint contribution, Eitan Benzur has been stripped of his ill-gotten gains, which have been shared between our jurisdictions to prevent future economic crime."
