At the end of last December, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya shared a message on his official X profile (previously known as Twitter) reporting on a successful operation carried out by the Istanbul Police against criminal organizations. The politician reported that in this operation the seizure of 23 high-end cars was achieved, which have become part of the vehicle fleet of the country's police forces.
The message was accompanied by a video in which 23 uniformed police officers with yellow vests and white caps appear, each one located next to one of the seized vehicles. The cars, all white, are labeled with the police logo and have priority lights installed on the roof, so there is no doubt about the fate of these vehicles, as announced by the Minister of the Interior.
Through the images, the identity of the vehicles is revealed, which include various models from brands such as Land Rover, Audi, Volvo and Mercedes, as well as even more exclusive ones such as Bentley, Ferrari or Porsche. In this way, the Turkish police is on par with other security forces in the world, as is the case in Dubai, where it is known that agents patrol with super-luxury cars.
Among the vehicles used by the emirate's security forces, there are several Aston Martin Vantages with the personalized license plate 77 in reference to the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates. But it also does so as a nod to a fictional character, agent James Bond, known as agent 007, who in all the films in the series patrols with high-end cars.
The initiative of the Turkish Government to transfer cars seized from criminal gangs to the security forces is something that we do not see in Spain. In our country, the destination of seized cars (to pay off a debt) or confiscated cars (because they were purchased with the proceeds of a criminal act) is usually auctions. They are public and all citizens of legal age who have previously registered can participate.
To participate in a car auction you must access the Official State Gazette (BOE) portal and select the vehicles section. Next, choose the province on which we want to do the search. Once we have made the selection, we will access the list of cars, motorcycles and other vehicles that are auctioned in the province.
If the auction is active, we can bid on the vehicle we are interested in. To participate in the bid, you must deposit 5% of the value of the lot as a deposit, which is recovered if the property is not ultimately awarded. Bids must be made in economic brackets already stipulated initially (200 euros, for example).
Users who do not want to periodically consult the BOE can register on the AlertaSubastas portal to personalize their search and receive a notification when a car that fits their preferences appears.
The mechanism for buying a car at an auction is simple, since all the procedures are carried out online, and it also allows you to get a vehicle for an amount lower than its market price. However, it also has its drawbacks.
On the one hand, there is no possibility of seeing or testing the vehicle before making the payment and, on the other, it is delivered without a guarantee, which implies assuming certain risks that in other cases do not arise.
