The sale was completed in just forty-five minutes, for a haul of just over 175,000 euros. This Thursday morning, ten rather luxurious vehicles were sold in the parking lot of a chic restaurant in Rennes. Organized by the Agency for the Management and Recovery of Seized and Confiscated Assets (Agrasc), this auction aimed to bring several tens of thousands of euros into the State coffers thanks to the proceeds from the sale of vehicles seized as part of judicial investigations. BMWs, Porsches, Jaguars and Maseratis which had been confiscated from their owners accused of drug trafficking, hidden work or traffic offenses. With a slogan: “Let crime not pay”.
Around fifty people gathered around the auctioneer to raise the stakes. Whether present on site or connected remotely, buyers know that they are plunging a little into the unknown by opting for these vehicles sold “as is and without possible complaints”. Khadija took the plunge. Coming to find a car for her daughter, she went up to 9,500 euros (plus 14% fees) to buy a small BMW 1 Series with 150,000 km. What if it belonged to a big local drug dealer or a driver? “The offenses are the individuals who committed them, not the car. I don’t care about the history, as long as the car runs well,” assures the buyer.
“I already have a convertible for the summer”
A few minutes later, it was the turn of Évelyne and her husband to go crazy to treat themselves to a 2018 Maserati Levante. Priced at 25,000 euros, the white SUV finally went for 42,000 euros. A bargain for “the star of the sale”, which normally sells for more than 100,000 euros new. “I already have a convertible for the summer. I was looking for something different,” says Évelyne, who bought an Italian SUV with the same relaxation as we bought a baguette. What about not knowing the car’s history? Not knowing who was using it and how it was running? “It doesn’t worry me at all. I have no qualms. » We tried hard to find out who the car belonged to but impossible. “The case is still ongoing and has not gone to trial. I can’t say anything,” explains Aurélie Poirier.
The magistrate coordinates the Rennes, Lille and Roubaix branches of Agrasc. This Thursday morning, she can consider herself satisfied to have brought 175,500 euros into the coffers of her agency. “The objective is first of all to show everyone that crime does not pay. If an item was purchased with money from trafficking or organized theft, the courts have the right to confiscate it. It is a penalty that is added to the sentence,” explains the magistrate.
Cars confiscated from convicted traffickers
Among the cars sold on Thursday, three were for example confiscated from dealers convicted by the criminal court of Saint-Brieuc (Côtes-d’Armor). “This also helps remind magistrates of the importance of these acts. To show that when they rule at 11 p.m. for the confiscation of this or that property, they can bring thousands of euros to justice. » Returned to the general state budget, these sums can also supplement the Mildeca fund, which fights against drug trafficking, or the competition fund to fight against pimping and human trafficking.
These sales also make it possible to put an end to the 1,600 euros in custody fees that each car costs the courts each year. ” Everyone wins. A car that sleeps for five or six years without running will interest no one,” explains magistrate Aurélie Poirier. In the event of acquittal or lifting of seizure by a judge, the defendant will be compensated by Agrasc for the amount of the sale.
Opened in January 2022, the Rennes branch of Agrasc has already carried out 4,300 registrations of new files for a financial volume of 23.2 million euros. Concretely, more than 13 million euros have already been stolen from delinquents to fill public coffers.