Police seized $5 million in criminal assets since passing of forfeiture act

The province's civil forfeiture program has brought in close to $5 million in the past two years through assets seized from suspected criminals, B.C.'s Solicitor General John van Dongen said Friday in Vancouver.

Van Dongen was at the Vancouver Police headquarters to showcase the latest seizure by police: a customized 1999 Mercedes sports coupe found to have a concealed handgun inside.

The driver of the Mercedes was a known gang member and is now facing weapons-related charges, said Vancouver Chief of Police Jim Chu.

The Civil Forfeiture Act, passed in May 2006, allows the province to seize property used for unlawful activity. The white sports coupe was put up for sale on the B.C. Auction website, with the money to be used to fund crime prevention and victims' services.

"When we were children, we were taught crime doesn't pay. Unfortunately, there are people that grew up believing that wasn't true. They became gangsters and criminals," said Chu.

"My message to them: all the profits you make off the misery of others — the money, the cars, the houses — will be taken from you. You will, in the end, pay for your own demise."

The largest single forfeiture was a luxury home in Burnaby valued at $1.31 million and alleged to have been purchased with laundered drug money.

Last November, a Hells Angels clubhouse in Nanaimo was also seized under the program.

To date, the program has provided more than $1 million to victims of crime and local groups working on crime prevention and remediation projects, said van Dongen.

The forfeiture program has also provided funding for the so-called Con Air program, which flies people who are wanted on outstanding warrants back to the provinces where the warrants were issued, said Chu.