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The court awarded the Attorney General $15,443.51 in unopposed partial indemnity costs following a successful civil forfeiture application.
Following a successful forfeiture application under the Civil Remedies Act, 2001, the Attorney General of Ontario sought costs of $15,443.51 on a partial indemnity basis.
The Interested Party, Eric Mahama, did not oppose the costs claim.
The court found the requested costs to be fair and reasonable, considering the four-year duration of the forfeiture application and the contested nature of the original proceeding.
The full amount of costs claimed by the Attorney General was granted.
The court ordered the civil forfeiture of over $77,000 in seized currency, finding it to be both the proceeds and an instrument of drug trafficking.
The Attorney General of Ontario applied for a forfeiture order under the Civil Remedies Act, 2001, seeking to forfeit $75,613 in Canadian currency and $1,734 in U.S. currency seized during a police search.
The currency was found in an apartment along with significant quantities of marihuana and crack cocaine, and drug paraphernalia.
The interested party, Eric Mahama, claimed the money was his life savings from lawful activities, stored at the apartment due to his mother's dementia.
The court found, on a balance of probabilities, that the seized currency constituted both proceeds and an instrument of unlawful activity (drug trafficking), rejecting Mahama's explanation as not credible.
The application for forfeiture was granted.
