You know, this confiscation of drug dealers profits? Never be used for any other purpose, would it?
W Stevenson and Sons has already been convicted of failing to supply accurate sales notes for the fish it sold. This makes it liable to have its assets confiscated – under a law enacted to seize the ill-gotten gains of convicted drug barons. The value of the partnership’s gains over the six years or more that the authorities believe it was fiddling could stretch into millions.
So now fiddling fish quotas is equivalent to drug dealing, eh?
Legalise and regulate drugs – no drugs barons- no need for such repressive laws. In that horrible phrase its a win win situation.
Government gets more money, courts get a lower work load and we get some of our liberty back.
Well I can dream, can’t I?
Yes, there’s a difference: cheating on fish quotas depletes fish stocks, harming us all (effectively, it’s stealing our commonly-held property); dealing drugs to willing buyers doesn’t harm anyone.
Fiddle fish quotas, get prosecuted AND have your money stolen. MPs fiddling expenses, no prosecution, no assets stolen, you don’t even have to return the expenses!