Direct CAB money towards drug projects, urges Kenny

GANGSTERS’ money seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) should be spent on drug treatment programmes, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said yesterday.

Set up in 1996, the CAB holds €16m worth of seized assets frozen on deposit, with around 4m available to the Exchequer next year.

Rather than just putting the cash directly into central Exchequer funds, Mr Kenny said the Government should ringfence the money for vital funding on cash- strapped drug treatment projects. CAB operations have contributed €42m to the Exchequer over the past seven years.