The Ruling on Repaying What an Addict Owes to the Drug Dealer

There is a young man who was extravagant with himself, and he used narcotics, so he is now in debt to the owners of the narcotics. Should he pay them the value of what he took from them, or not?
I see, may Allah bless you! He should give the value of what he took from them to the public treasury, and not return it to them. As for his not returning it to them, it is because it is the price of a forbidden thing. And as for it returning to the public treasury, it is so that he does not combine the consideration and the thing considered.If we said: Do not give it to him, meaning that he previously took the consideration from these narcotics, may Allah grant us safety, and he held onto its value.So we say: The value that you purchased must be given to the public treasury, and as for them, they do not deserve anything; because the source of their earnings is forbidden wealth.

The questioner: If he gives it in charity, O Shaykh?The Shaykh: It does not benefit, because if they return it to the public treasury and the judge tells them to give it in charity, there is no harm.