Flippa Mafia still owns $22 million apartment, official documents show
Published:Sunday | July 11, 2021 | 12:11 AMLivern Barrett - Senior Staff Reporter
Jamaican entertainer-turned-drug dealer ‘Flippa Mafia’ remains joint owner of a $22-million apartment in the upscale neighbourhood of Norbrook, St Andrew, amid a search by local authorities looking to seize assets linked to him.
Two high-end multimillion-dollar Porsche sports utility vehicles the dancehall artiste boasted of owning have since vanished without a trace, law-enforcement sources revealed.
The apartment is nestled inside a gated community located on Norbrook Road and is jointly owned by the once flamboyant dancehall artiste, whose given name is Andrew Davis, and his sister, Angelita Davis, according to state property records obtained by The Sunday Gleaner.
“It furnish and everything. Every now and then she come mek sure say it clean up and that everything good,” a source at the complex disclosed, referring to a female believed to be the entertainer’s sister.
‘Flippa Mafia’ is five years into a 25-year prison sentence in the state of New Jersey, in the United States (US), for his involvement in an international drug trafficking ring which American law-enforcement authorities believe was operated from various locations in Jamaica, New Jersey and California.
Under Jamaica’s Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA), properties and other assets derived from a “criminal lifestyle” can be forfeited to the State.
Drug trafficking is among the offences listed in the legislation for which the State, through the Financial Investigations Division (FID), can seek to forfeit those assets.
Angelita Davis has not been accused of any crime.
NO COMMENT
The FID acknowledged, in response to questions from The Sunday Gleaner, that it was probing Flippa Mafia’s finances, but declined to indicate whether it was aware of the $22-million apartment or any other assets.
Garth Williams, brand communications specialist at the FID, noted that notwithstanding a conviction in a foreign court, any process filed in the Jamaican civil court has to lead specific, cogent evidence to convince the court that assets being targeted were derived from criminal conduct.
“The mere fact of a criminal conviction may not be enough to lead to successful forfeiture of the asset(s). We are thus collaborating to connect all the dots and file the relevant process at court if appropriate,” Williams said in the emailed response attributed to the FID’s legal services unit and financial investigators.
“We are agreed that based on the present stage of our investigations, it would not be prudent to comment on same at this time,” he added.
The FID spokesman did not disclose which other law-enforcement agency the FID was collaborating with, and questions emailed to the Office of the Attorney General for the state of New Jersey went unanswered up to late yesterday.
Documents filed with the National Land Agency (NLA) show that in 2009 Flippa Mafia, who also performed under the stage name ‘Flippa Mogela’, and his sister shelled out US$250,000 (approximately J$22 million) for the Norbrook apartment.
It was purchased from Bacra Capital Management, a company that was registered in the British Virgin Islands at the time, and transferred to the siblings on January 7, 2010, official records show.
Three years later, on September 16, 2013, the self-styled ‘Flossin King’ was arrested by US law-enforcement authorities in Los Angeles, California, marking the culmination of a multi-agency investigation dubbed ‘Operation Next Day Air’.
The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office announced at the time that he was part of an international drug ring that used the US Mail and other parcel delivery services to ship multiple kilograms of cocaine from California into that state.
Detectives recovered more than 26 kilograms of cocaine, worth approximately US$960,000, two handguns and more than US$500,000 in cash during the course of the investigation.
On December 17, 2015, Flippa Mafia was found guilty of first-degree distribution of cocaine, second-degree money laundering and second-degree conspiracy in a Camden County courthouse.
The jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict on the more serious charge which accused Andrew Davis of leading a narcotic trafficking network.
He was sentenced in June 2016 to 25 years in state prison, including 12 years of parole ineligibility and ordered to pay a US$250,000 anti-money laundering profiteering penalty.
MILLIONS SEIZED FROM ILL-GOTTEN GAINS
Jamaica’s international partners have made “significant investments” to ensure that the public see criminals being stripped of their ill-gotten gains, Justin Felice, former chief technical director of the FID, disclosed.
“Criminals must realise that their assets will be seized and forfeited,” Felice insisted.
Approximately $115 million in assets – $48.2 million in 2019 and $67 million in 2020 – was forfeited to the State over the last two years through the POCA legislation, according to the latest figures compiled by the FID.
Over the two-year period, financial investigators also seized a total of $235 million – $132.9 million in 2019 and $102.7 in 2010 – from individuals who could not explain the source of the cash.
In addition, the courts have issued restrained orders for motor vehicles, real estate properties and cash valued at $45.9 million in the last two years.