In December 1998, nearly U$280 million (then approx. £169 million) from illicit drugs profits were seized by the US government, making it the largest in history. The largest of the seizures, U$180 million (then approx. £108 million), was found in a Swiss bank account and was split 50/50 with the Swiss government. The money belonged to Colombian drug lord Julio Nasser David and had been stashed over the 70's and 80's through massive drugs smuggling operations to the US and Switzerland. He is currently jailed in Colombia and his wife Sheila is serving a 12 year sentence in the US. The confiscated money was distributed to federal and local law enforcement agencies to be used in future drug related investigations.
