Border patrol seizures

[FinsnFur]

Watching Border patrol the other day on NetGeo and they seized I believe $474,000 dollars in cash from a group in a safe house.
Thats almost a half a million bucks
What exactly happens to this money anyway??

[Hidehunter]

They use it to pay for Obama's next haircut!

[coyote101]

What exactly happens to this money anyway??

Unless someone has a legal claim to it, it is forfeited to the government. If local agencies are also involved it is split according to published federal guidelines.

Pat

[FinsnFur]

Interesting.
So border patrol or local law enforcement agencies could be splitting it?

[coyote101]

So border patrol or local law enforcement agencies could be splitting it?

The feds will get it if they are the only ones involved. If state or local agencies are also involved they might get a part of it. There is of course some paperwork and it can take quiet a while for everything to work its way through the system. It is handled according to this:

Asset Forfeiture Policy Manual
http://www.justice.gov/usao/ri/projects/esguidelines.pdf

If a federal agency is not involved then state law and local asset forfeiture agreements determine how it is split up. Most of the time the amounts are not too great, but it is not uncommon for highway interdiction seizures to be in the hundreds of thousands and sometimes exceed a million dollars.

Pat

[KySongDog]

Hey Pat

I have heard that the government sells off seized assets (like boats, cars, trucks, houses, etc.)  really cheap.   Is that true?   If so, how does one get a piece of the loot? 

[CCP]

Jim go to the link and take the time to watch all the video news clips on that page. This shows you how most local drug task force work is done and what happens. I can only imagine how crooked the big boys with the Feds do.

http://www.newschannel5.com/story/14643085/police-profiting-off-drug-trade?clienttype=printable

Semp those bargain cars and boats come in lots auctioned off in lots  with big ticket items are in the 100's of thousands range.

[coyote101]

I have heard that the government sells off seized assets (like boats, cars, trucks, houses, etc.)  really cheap.   Is that true?   If so, how does one get a piece of the loot? 

Here is one site:
http://www.govdeals.com/

Pat

[FinsnFur]

Jim go to the link and take the time to watch all the video news clips on that page. This shows you how most local drug task force work is done and what happens. I can only imagine how crooked the big boys with the Feds do.

WOW...well I wish I wouldnt have watched it now. That looks juts like something you see over in Russia. Holy crap!

[coyote101]

This shows you how most local drug task force work is done and what happens.

That's a pretty broad brush don't you think? The truth is most drug task forces don't have the time or manpower to spend much time on highway interdiction. And even if they did, most drug tasks forces don't have a major drug trafficking corridor like I40 within their area of jurisdiction. Most local drug task forces concentrate on local drug manufacturing and trafficking issues. Their law enforcment administrators and political bosses wouldn't have it any other way. And the seizures of drugs, cash and other assets are usually rather unspectacular.   

Pat