FID hands over eight forfeited vehicles to CTOC

KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Financial Investigations Division (FID) on Thursday handed over eight forfeited motor vehicles to the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime (CTOC), following the successful prosecution of matters involving breaches of the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA).

In a release, it was shared that the vehicles were forfeited to the Crown and transferred to support CTOC’s operational capacity, including its Constabulary Financial Unit (CFU) and the Firearm and Narcotics Investigation Division (FNID).

Six of the eight vehicles were forfeited from fraud-related matters, while one was forfeited from a corruption case and another from a cybercrime matter. The total estimated market value of the vehicles is approximately $7.39 million.

The handover reflects the FID’s ongoing work to identify, restrain and recover assets derived from criminal conduct, and to ensure that recovered assets are repurposed in ways that strengthen Jamaica’s broader crime-fighting capabilities.

Speaking on the significance of the handover, Keith Darien, principal director of Financial Crimes Investigations at the FID, said asset recovery serves as both a deterrent and a practical benefit to law enforcement.

“This handover is a clear example of how our collaboration with the JCF is multi-layered, to include investigations, prosecutions, and recovery that can translate into real operational support for CTOC,” Darien said.

“When the public supports the FID and our partner law enforcement agencies in combating crime, the country benefits. Even at a modest scale, asset recovery can reduce pressure on government resources by returning the proceeds of crime to strengthen the crime-fighting machinery. This is what it looks like to remove the benefit from crime.”

The vehicles were handed over to CTOC, under which the Firearm and Narcotics Investigation Division operates.

Senior Superintendent Patrae Rowe of the Firearm and Narcotics Investigation Division said the additional vehicles will strengthen operational mobility.

“These vehicles received from the FID today most certainly will strengthen our operational mobility and will certainly add value to the Firearms and Narcotics Investigation Division; and it will allow for quicker and more responsive action without diverting already burdened police resources that could be used otherwise,” Rowe said.

“This handover demonstrates what coordinated law enforcement can achieve: assets linked to criminality are recovered through due process and redirected into public safety. It’s a tangible example of partnership in action, and it reinforces the broader point that when the public supports the work of the FNID and the FID the combined effort redounds to the benefit of the country and the Jamaican people.”

The FID emphasised that asset recovery under POCA remains a critical tool in disrupting criminal networks by removing the financial incentives of crime and preventing illicit gains from being enjoyed or reinvested into further wrongdoing.