Garda haul raises €450k for State
Trainers and bikes among items auctioned off
CONFISCATED goods sold at auction by the gardaí have raised more than €450,000 for the Exchequer in the last five years. Items sold at auction by the force include bikes, cars, luxury watches, boats and expensive handbags. Some criminals have been found with 30 or 40 pairs of new trainers, which are also put up for sale, according to one of the auction organisers. Bicycles are a particular problem for the gardaí. It emerged in September that more than 14,000 bikes – worth €7.1million in total – have been stolen since 2016. When gardaí seize a bike that’s been stolen but can’t find its owner, they obtain a court order to sell it at public auction. Such bikes now make 70% of goods sold off by the gardaí. The force works with two auction firms, Wilsons Auctions, which sells most items, and Merlin Auctions, which mostly deals in cars.
Figures released through Freedom of Information, show that An Garda Síochána made €67,148 in 2018 through the sale of used vehicles and forfeited and unclaimed property. All the money raised is given to the State.
Of the last five years, 2014 was the single best year for the Garda auctions – with a total of €150,916 raised from the sale of such items.
Much of the property that goes to auction are items either forfeited to An Garda Síochána, or lost or recovered property which is just never claimed.
Aiden Larkin, head of asset recovery for Wilsons Auctions, said the fate of revenues raised at such auctions are decided on a case-by-case basis. In some cases money raised at auction could go to a crime’s victim.
‘With government-seized assets we need to be able to demonstrate that we’ve achieved best value. This isn’t a liquidation sale,’ he said.
Wilsons Auctions has the contract to conduct auctions for An Garda Síochána along with 40 other government agencies across the UK and Ireland. They host around 50 auctions a week.
Mr Larkin said that when assets come to An Garda Síochána, it will instruct his company to put it up for sale, be it a Rolex, an expensive mountain bike or a Louis Vuitton bag, and Wilsons Auctions will work to get the best price for it which could often mean moving it to another jurisdiction.
‘This isn’t a liquidation sale’