Local News in Brief : Cars Seized in Drug Raids
More than two dozen cars driven by narcotics traffickers and their customers and worth $179,000 were confiscated by FBI agents and Los Angeles police, who made 45 arrests in joint operations, authorities said Thursday.
The vehicles, including expensive foreign makes, were impounded over the last three days, mainly on the Westside. They are being held at a Hollywood parking lot. “The intended message of this and future task force operations is: Regardless of whether you’re an illegal buyer or a dealer of any drugs, your assets will be taken from you,” Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl F. Gates said.
The Los Angeles Police Department began using the tactic of seizing vehicles from narcotics suspects in 1984 after passage of federal and state laws. The statutes permit the department to seize any real and personal property that represents proceeds of illegal narcotics enterprises or property used to facilitate such enterprises, Gates said.
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