US places sanctions on Australian man over alleged global narcotics trafficking role
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David Jonathan Thackray, who was jailed in New Zealand in 2014, is one of three Australians now subject to such sanctions. An Australian man has been sanctioned by the US treasury department over his alleged involvement in the global narcotics trade. Australian David Jonathan Thackray and New Zealand national Ho Kai Leung were among 12 individuals and eight entities sanctioned by the department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) in an action it said was being taken against “global narcotics traffickers”.
He is now among three Australians currently listed under the Ofac’s sanction regime, which does not require criminal prosecution or conviction for a person to be listed. Thackray was sanctioned for having engaged, or attempting to engage, in activities or transactions that have materially contributed to, or pose a significant risk of materially contributing to, the international proliferation of illicit drugs or their means of production, Ofac alleged in a statement last month.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email. Thackray was charged with importing nearly a kilogram of cocaine into New Zealand in 2014 and subsequently jailed, NZ police said in a statement acknowledging the Ofac sanctions. Leung was also convicted in New Zealand for procuring and possessing methamphetamine and amphetamine, and is the director of two New Zealand-registered companies sanctioned by Ofac.
