President Hipolito Mejia signed two decrees to bolster Law 72-02, which oversees the laundering of property proceeding from the trafficking of controlled substances and drugs. Decree 19-03 establishes the Office for the Care and Administration of Seized and Forfeited Property and was signed into effect at a ceremony at the Presidential Palace in the presence of the ambassadors from the Dublin Group (USA, Canada, Australia, Norway, Japan and the European Union). At the signing, Mejia made reference to the 103 kilos of cocaine that were recently seized from a Justice of the Peace in Miches, on the East Coast. The decree pertains to the administration of farms and other properties seized from drug traffickers and will outline the procedure for auctions on other properties such as real estate, machinery and animals. Decree 20-03 covers the rules and regulations that enforce Law 72-02.
