Start the slideshow

An example of a vehicle seized and transformed by the national gendarmerie which uses it on a daily basis.

Here a Megane RS.

-

Brittany gendarmerie region

  • In France, the law authorizes gendarmes, police and customs officials to use property seized and confiscated from people convicted by the courts. 

  • The national gendarmerie regularly uses it and has nearly 1,400 vehicles that have belonged to drug traffickers or involved in traffic offenses. 

  • The police have less recourse to this solution which also allows the use of goods such as scooters, drones or even computer equipment.

It is a subject little known and yet essential in the fight against crime and in particular against the drug trafficking which plagues certain neighborhoods.

To "hurt" the traffickers, the police have opted for a few years for a new method: the seizure and confiscation of property and money.

Vehicles, real estate, multimedia devices and even everyday objects such as refrigerators and lawnmowers are regularly confiscated from sometimes very wealthy criminal organizations.

What is less known is that all these objects can be reassigned to the police who use them on a daily basis to fight against crime.

Or mow the barracks lawn.

Explanations.

A BMW 8 series with clean lines.

Scratch-free metallic gray paint and an engine capable of sticking you to the seat.

In Rennes, this pretty sportswoman has been circulating for several months near the Clemenceau barracks.

His owner ?

The national gendarmerie.

Seized as part of an anti-stoppage drive, the luxury car was assigned to the Ille-et-Vilaine group which can use it for its road safety or investigation missions.

And she's not the only one.

In Brittany, 118 vehicles circulate in the ranks of the gendarmerie.

In France, the figure approaches 1,400, the equivalent of a third of unmarked vehicles.

An example of a vehicle seized and transformed by the national gendarmerie which uses it on a daily basis.

Here a Clio RS.

- Brittany gendarmerie region

Led since 2011 by the Agency for the Management and Recovery of Seized and Confiscated Assets (Agrasc), this policy regularly “rewards” the gendarmerie by assigning it confiscated property by court order.

In recent years, the practice has even accelerated with the arrival of seizures.

These goods belonging to suspected criminals who have not yet been tried can be attributed to the gendarmerie, police, customs and even to the courts since January 1.

“Confiscation is a court decision.

When it is final, the property is automatically transferred to the State.

For the seizure, it is different because the owner has not yet been judged so we are not sure that he will be condemned or that the confiscation will be confirmed ”, explains Lieutenant-Colonel of the gendarmerie Yannick Tholozan, who follows this file at the national level.

The seized property is therefore likely to be returned to its owner in its original state.

“This is why we do not use the computer equipment seized but only the confiscated one.

It would be too complicated to return all the personal data, ”continues the lieutenant-colonel.

A Porsche Cayenne to go to the cities

Whether seized or confiscated, vehicles are the privileged prey of the gendarmes, who use them for certain daily missions.

Powerful vehicles are allocated to Road Safety teams while the brightest are allocated to special forces like the GIGN.

We have already seen big Hummers being sacrificed to put an end to go-fasts, for example, or a Porsche Cayenne being used to carry out drug “buying shots” in cities.

In Brittany, the road safety squadrons like small sports cars like the 208 GTI, Megane GT or Clio RS.

"Mobility is a real issue to cover the territory", justifies the gendarmerie.

If the police have a taste for cars, they do not refuse certain "bonuses" that belonged to criminals.

Drones to monitor, electric scooters to infiltrate, computers to investigate and even everyday goods like mowers, video game consoles, washing machines or refrigerators.

"We use them for barracks maintenance or to equip our premises which receive reinforcement squadrons", continues Lieutenant-Colonel Tholozan.

The practice divides in the courts

For its part, the national police are more cautious about using these confiscated or seized goods.

The reason is simple.

Considered as a “bonus” in the gendarmerie, these assignments are included in the staffing tables of the police and therefore replace other equipment.

“In the department, we only have one seized vehicle that was assigned to Saint-Malo.

It is very supervised.

With us, the vehicles are only used for liaison missions or for mailing, ”explains Divisional Commissioner Hervé Luxembourger.

The head of departmental security in Rennes, however, recognizes that certain goods are sometimes used by his services to "go unnoticed" during field operations.

In the courts, however, seizures tend to divide.

While some magistrates do not hesitate to pronounce them to “sanction criminals where it hurts”, others see it as “a plunder” of certain litigants and are more reluctant.

“We only hurt if we hit the wallet.

It is necessary to attack the delinquents on their profits, otherwise, the fight will be futile ”, estimates the lieutenant-colonel Tholozan.

Society

Brittany: Drug trafficking dismantled after the death of a woman by overdose

Miscellaneous

Rennes: A gang accused of drug trafficking and human trafficking arrested

  • Amazing

  • Traffic

  • Police

  • Car

  • Automotive

  • Crime

  • Capture

  • Drug

  • Drug traffic

  • Reindeer

  • Society

  • Gendarmerie