A number of area law enforcement agencies are expecting a boost to their department’s bottom line in the coming weeks. The Sheriff’s Offices of Jones, Laurens, Washington and Houston counties – as well as the office of the Oconee Drug Task Force – will all be offering a stockpile of seized and unclaimed property at several upcoming public auctions.
Items headed to the auction block include cars, trucks, boats, ATV’s, power tools and equipment, electronics and even firearms. Some of the items are seized as a result of criminal cases; while others are unclaimed property agencies have no way of determining who the rightful owner might be.
Macon-area auction company, L.W. Benton Company, Inc., will be conducting the auctions which include traditional live auctions as well as internet-bidding through the company’s website, www.BidderOne.com.
L.W. Benton Company president, Larry “Bo” Benton says that law enforcement auctions like these are beneficial to the respective agencies and their communities. Benton says there are strict regulations as to how funds from the liquidation of such property can be used, pointing out that they cannot be used for salaries but instead for capital purchases like equipment, vehicles or weapons.
“These auctions put money back into a department’s budget that might help purchase an extra patrol car or bullet-proof vests, so there’s a benefit to taxpayers and officers alike,” he says.
Benton admits drug-seizure auctions are always popular among bidders as well. “Drug dealers tend to have flashy cars and nice toys, so people always like to come out and see what they might be able to take home at a decent price.”
L.W. Benton Company’s law enforcement auctions began with an internet-bidding only Seized Firearms Auction that ended Friday, May 24. Bidding for this auction was limited to Federally licensed firearms dealers but the public could have arranged for a dealer to purchase a firearm on their behalf.
The remaining seized property from the will be sold between two auctions the first week of June. The majority of vehicles will be sold during a live auction on Saturday, June 1, at the L.W. Benton Company Auction facility, located on Highway 49 in Jones County. An internet-only auction containing most of the smaller items will end on Thursday, June 6, at 12 noon.
For more information about the upcoming auctions, contact L.W. Benton Company at 478.744.0027 or visit the company’s website for pictures and online bidding at www.BidderOne.com.
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