Date published 18 September 2015

Assets of Queensland drug offenders
The CCC has examined its proceeds of crime data from 2009 to 2014 to inform law enforcement and government about the value and nature of assets held by drug offenders in Queensland.

The research does not analyse the assets of all known drug offenders in Queensland. Rather, the research examines drug offenders who were referred to the CCC for proceeds of crime action, and their assets that were detected and restrained by the CCC. To our knowledge, this is the first piece of research in Australia that has examined the assets of drug offenders using proceeds of crime data.


The CCC found:

  • Assets held by Queensland drug offenders typically ranged from $100 000 to $500 000, with a median value of about $230 000.
  • Higher-value assets were associated with factors such as trading mainly in cocaine, being a producer or importer in the supply chain, and longer participation in drug offending.
  • Drug offenders with known links to an OMCG had lower-value assets than did offenders without such links. Offenders with links to OMCGs may often reinvest a portion of their criminal proceeds into the OMCG itself.
  • Real property, followed by cash, accounted for the greatest percentage of offenders’ assets.
  • Higher percentages of cash were associated with offenders trading mainly in heroin, being involved in distribution or dealing, or operating in south-east Queensland.
  • Most assets restrained from Queensland drug offenders were registered in their own name. However, proceeds of crime data almost certainly underestimate the percentage of assets held by drug offenders in other names.

The findings of the research will also be of interest to agencies and researchers in other jurisdictions.

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Publication Type
Research and Intelligence
Topics
CCC
Crime
Tags
Crime
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