A luxury home and stables worth €664,000 (£460,000) have been seized from a suspected drug dealer in Northern Ireland, it emerged today.
An equestrian exercise arena and 15 horses were also impounded by the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA).
ARA boss Mr Alan McQuillan compiled a dossier on the Coleraine, Co Derry-based suspect, before securing High Court orders to freeze his estate.
Mr Alan McQuillan, head of the Assets Recovery Agency
Even though the bulk of the property was bought and held in the name of the man's mother- in-law, the anti-racketeering agency argued he had paid for it through an illegal narcotics trade.
Mr McQuillan, a former Northern Ireland police chief, said: "This case sends out a clear message to drug dealers and all others involved in crime. Attempting to cover their tracks by putting their ill-gotten assets in the name of others will not prevent or deter us in our relentless pursuit of the proceeds of crime."
ARA representatives searched two premises in the Coleraine area last week - a five-bedroom detached house and an apartment - after being issued warrants through the courts.
A total of £36,000 in cash was confiscated. Immediately after the searches an Interim Receiver appointed to act for the High Court took control of a series of assets.
PA