In the fight against illegal drugs, criminal prosecution only addresses half of the problem. Namely, it only gets at the drug dealers after they have already committed their crimes. Forfeitures help prevent those crimes from ever occurring in the first place.

A forfeiture is when the Commonwealth seizes the money, property, or other assets of a drug dealer because it is the proceeds of, or is used in substantial connection with, the illegal drug trade. Too often, immediately after arrest a dealer is back on the streets selling his poison in our community. Forfeitures help ensure that that doesn’t happen.

Forfeitures also help defray the costs of law enforcement; the property and money seized are dedicated to further law enforcement, thus requiring that drug dealers pay for the efforts to stop their trade.