Would you buy one? [CAB looking to sell fleet of luxury cars seized in Limerick]

Comhrá

CAB looking to sell fleet of luxury cars seized in Limerick.

https://www.limerickleader.ie/news/home/434800/cab-looking-to-sell-fleet-of-luxury-cars-seized-in-limerick.html?#.XUBIYFaO8Xk.facebook

The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) wants to sell off a fleet of 114 cars valued at almost €3 million that were seized from a Limerick motor dealer last March, the High Court heard this Tuesday.

At a hearing a barrister said the cars are expensive to store and are losing value so the State wants to sell them off as quickly as possible.

Justice Carmel Stewart adjourned the matter to August 15 when she will decide whether to allow CAB to sell the cars.

She said that assets such as cars can "rapidly depreciate" and the maximum value of the cars should be realised.


If the court allows the sale of the cars, she said, the money can be kept until the court decides whether the cars were the proceeds of crime under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Two respondents were named in court in relation to the seized cars. They were Stephen Bawn Motors Ltd trading as Bawn Motors, Old Ballysimon Road, Limerick and Mr Mike Nash with an address in Newcastle West, Co Limerick. Lawyers for the respondents said they had not yet had a chance to take instructions from their clients.

Following the raid in March it was estimated that the value of the car fleet was €2.8 million, making it one of the biggest seizures in CAB's 20-year history. The cars, including luxury model Mercedes, BMW, and Audi were seized from a garage in Limerick.

In the same operation officers raided two houses in Limerick, a garage in a town in Tipperary, an accountant's office in Limerick City, and two solicitors' offices in Co Limerick.

chicorytip

Comhra wrote:

CAB looking to sell fleet of luxury cars seized in Limerick.

Why not? Do CAB offer warranties? Ha Ha.

Shefwedfan

Every dealer in the country will be down buying them

bazz26

Only the portacabin type ones on the likes of the Naas road I'd say. The article is making the stock out to be a lot more glamorous than it actually was.

Atlantic Dawn

Might be worth buying if the stuff was mixed with a general auction, don't think I'd fancy buying something easily identifiable in a public auction scenario. I'd say any registered will be given new plates.

Wonder do the cars get regular care to keep them in good condition or have they just been sitting in a pound for the last 5 months?

bazz26

Most of their stuff were UK imports I think. There is still a Jaguar XF and Audi Q7 parked over in the corner on their yard with the bonnets not fully closed left there after the raid so I assumes these are non runners.

colm_mcm

It’s Passats and A4s basically.

James Bond Junior

Not a hope. Their reputation in Limerick was poor and I know for a fact they kept a number of bodyshops in Limerick very very busy.

bazz26

If what I heard was true then the UK Cat D/C stuff was dropped off the transporter straight to those body shops.

I expect most of this stuff to find its way onto donedeal at some stage.

James Bond Junior

bazz26 wrote: »

If what I heard was true then the UK Cat D/C stuff was dropped off the transporter straight to those body shops.

I expect most of this stuff to find its way onto donedeal at some stage.

Scrapyards in Dublin supplied a lot too I believe. Two cars becoming one was an occurrence too.

Eric Cartman

This all reminds me of a time i went to see an e65 750 at a used car warehouse in bluebell, i noticed metal and sound insulation had been removed, I presumed they were UK damaged repaired , 2 months later cab soezed all the cars and a well known drug gang was behind the whole operation, my guess is the metal and insulation was removed to transport drugs, lucky escape as the prices of the cars were bordering on too good to be true. I would imagine this is more of the same.

gctest50

Why don't they use them as Garda cars ?


If they're good enough to sell off to the public, they'd do for that

gctest50

gctest50 wrote: »

Why don't they use them as Garda cars ?


If they're good enough to sell off to the public, they'd do for that

Would be a good idea, but would cost money to put lights/sirens on them, and there's no way would they unnecessarily spend a penny on policing, when instead they could flog the lot.

gctest50

Use them as CAB cars - fleet sorted for the next 5 years & less lights

bear1

If it would be possible to change the number plates on them they I don't think it would bother me.
Guards may as well have them and save themselves a fortune

Henry Ford III

Not with a 50 foot barge pole

ELM327

Absolutely

colm_mcm

bear1 wrote: »

If it would be possible to change the number plates on them they I don't think it would bother me.
Guards may as well have them and save themselves a fortune

Most of them are UK imports AFAIK so would have different plates anyway.

IrishZeus

One of the places mentioned in the article is back in business - same premises. Parents called in there two weeks looking at a car.

English/British owner and salesman, said he didn't give a boll**ks if they bought or not, accused Irish salesmen of being crooks, wouldn't budge on price etc. They ran a mile after being there.

This place was restocked after being cleared out only weeks previously by CAB and was under the control of the same guy!

colm_mcm

I’d say he promised to straighten up and fly right.

An Ri rua

Ah lads, if you had any concerns about the car, sure you could always give the former keeper a bell and he'd put you right...

bear1

colm_mcm wrote: »

Most of them are UK imports AFAIK so would have different plates anyway.

No I mean I wouldn't want a number plate that may be recognised by the wrong crowd.
So if there was a possibility that you could register it again then I wouldn't mind.

bazz26

Every one of those cars for sale has its own story to tell, not just the characters selling them. You would want your head examined to buy any of those cars imo.

bear1

Yeah but cheap tax.

colm_mcm

bazz26 wrote: »

Every one of those cars for sale has its own story to tell, not just the characters selling them. You would want your head examined to buy any of those cars imo.

Not sure I’d agree. I think for the money laundering element of it they could have been buying legitimate cars.

Del2005

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Wonder do the cars get regular care to keep them in good condition or have they just been sitting in a pound for the last 5 months?

5 months is nothing for a car to be left outside, mines been outside for 11 years. Even new cars could be sitting for months before being delivered to the customer. Sitting for several years would be a issue, sitting for a few months no issues.

The only potential issue could be paint, but that can be destroyed on a car in use every day.