Hugo Lodge and Katherine Higgs secure nominal £1 confiscation order in 19 kilo Class A drug importation 

Hugo Lodge and Katherine Higgs, instructed by Greg Powell of Powell Spencer & Partners, represented the defendant in confiscation proceedings following a guilty plea to a large-scale drug importation in which he admitted responsibility for the importation of 19 kilograms of Class A drugs.

The case was complicated by the fact that, whilst serving a lengthy custodial sentence for a previous similar offence, the defendant had established a web based services company from his cell. The prosecution alleged that the company had been set up using criminal proceeds and that a series of large payments into the business account, as well as payments made to his sister and wife, represented the proceeds of crime and demonstrated the existence of hidden assets resulting from the drug importation.

The Crown invited the Court to conclude that the defendant held hidden assets equivalent to the full benefit figure, approximately £880,000, relying upon evidence relating to overseas jurisdictions including Spain, Cyprus, Hong Kong, the Seychelles and Mauritius. 

The confiscation proceedings spanned a period of five years and involved multiple defence applications for disclosure, production orders and mutual legal assistance. Following a three-day contested hearing, the Learned Judge declined to find any hidden assets and assessed the available amount at the nominal sum of £1.