A luxury yacht, a Ferrari and real gold bars have been among the items that people have been able to buy online.
From supercars to exclusive watches, have you ever wondered what happens to items taken away from criminals? Millions of pounds worth of luxury items seized from criminals have gone under the hammer over the last year, giving lucky bidders a chance to get their hands on some exciting items.
Wilsons Auctions is responsible for selling off the ill-gotten gains seized by police forces around the country including Merseyside. These luxury items, ranging from gold watches to designer handbags are auctioned off after they have been taken under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
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This means the proceeds are returned to the public purse once criminals have been caught. Every year a variety of items are seized and re-sold, but this year alone, millions of pounds worth of items have appeared for auction, including a yacht that belonged to a drug dealing hotel boss.
Earlier this year, a 50 ft yacht berthed in Albert Dock was to be sold to the highest bidder after it was seized by the National Crime Agency (NCA) after its owner Gary Swift was implicated in a £60m drug plot. Swift, from the Huyton area, was arrested when police stormed the drug laden SY Atrevido during the early hours of December 2017 off the coast of Wales.
In September, a huge range of 22ct gold bangles had been seized which were worth over £300k. The gold bangles were seized from a supposed trader who was couriering them between the UK and Dubai. As well as this, Tiffany & Co diamond rings, Louis Vuitton bags, Rolex watches and a Nissan Gt-r were also available for purchase.
Wilsons Auctions’ Government Contracts Manager, Mark Woods previously said: "We are proud to facilitate auctions on behalf of our government and law enforcement agency clients. We play an important role in realising a large quantity of assets on behalf of these clients and in recent years, these auctions have seen us responsible in returning £130 million back into the public purse."
Back in April, a bidding war was expected to occur after a Ferrari F430 F1 and a Bentley Continental GT came up for auction, alongside 18-carat white gold handmade diamond set Bentley Wings. The special keyring, supplied with a full jewellers appraisal, was estimated to be worth £15,300.
Earlier this year, after a woman was spotted at Heathrow Airport trying to evade customs officials, 15 gold bars were seized. It was believed the items were worth more than £650k as they went under the hammer in December.
As the UK and Ireland’s largest independent auction company, Wilsons Auctions had been instructed to sell the gold with no reserve, meaning the lots will be sold to the highest bidder. Wilsons Auctions’ Government Contracts Manager, Mark Woods said: "We are delighted to be managing the sale of more high value assets on behalf of the NCA. Wilsons Auctions has been the contract provider for the disposal of assets seized under POCA for a number of years now.
"With gold being an extremely popular means of global investment combined with the aspect of this gold being sold with no reserve, the auction being entirely online and open to participants across the world will make it will make it extremely convenient to bidders."
More information about Wilsons and upcoming auctions can be found here.
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