Jamaica authorities get hold of $55m property

A lavish four-bedroom house, complete with a swimming pool, which has been valued at $55 million, is among five residential properties owned by a Jamaican alleged to be involved in drugs and money laundering activities that have been ordered forfeited to Jamaican authorities.

Further, the Financial Investigations Division (FID), which applied to the Supreme Court for the order, has revealed that it is probing eight other properties linked to the Jamaican national and persons close to him that have been valued above J$230 million.

According to the FID, the five properties, along with two licensed firearms owned by the Jamaican, have a combined value of $72 million.

The four-bedroom house is reportedly located in the upscale community of Hatfield Meadows, in Ironshore, Montego Bay.

The FID said the court order, which was handed down last Tuesday, also includes approximately 20 acres of farmland located in Hazelymph, Hanover.

FID head Justin Felice, in a statement yesterday, disclosed that the forfeitures come after a near three-year probe and after lengthy negotiations with "lawyers representing the individual both in Jamaica and in the US".

Felice said the investigation has resulted in court-ordered restraint on several assets valued at $320 million.