SDLP says seized criminal assets should be spent on victims
30/03/2005 - 10:41:59The SDLP has called for money seized from paramilitaries in the North to be ring-fenced for the victims of violence.
Party leader Mark Durkan said money seized by the Assets Recovery Agency should be used to fund counselling and trauma centres and compensation for victims.
The ARA, the North's equivalent of the Criminal Assets Bureau, was established to seize money and assets that the police believe are the proceeds of crime.
Last week, the agency froze £5m (€7.3m) worth of assets belonging to a suspected drug dealer with links to loyalist paramilitaries.
