THUNDER BAY -- One of the best ways to hurt criminals is by taking away their toys, says a local police official.
“It really does hurt criminals in their pockets when you’re able to take away the things they value,” said Chris Adams, executive officer with the Thunder Bay Police Service.
One example is a 2006 Hummer H3 SUV the Thunder Bay police seized in March 2010. It was used by one of the accused in a drug trafficking ring in the city.
On Friday, the vehicle was loaded onto a flatbed behind the Balmoral Street police station for transportation to the Ontario Ministry of the Solicitor General.
The Hummer was owned by a 28-year-old woman who was charged and convicted of forcible confinement in May 2011.
Adams said she was involved with a number of individuals in various crimes within the trafficking operation.
“The investigators were able to make a link between the vehicle being used in the commission of these crimes and as a result of that and through everyone travelling through the court process, the police service was then able to make an application to have that vehicle, that Hummer, forfeited to the Crown,” Adams said.
The vehicle will be taken to Toronto and then auctioned off and the money will go to the Proceeds of Crime fund. Police forces can apply for funding from Proceeds of Crime for special projects.
Adams said seizing property and cash from convicted criminals is important in the punitive process.
“A Hummer is a bit of a status symbol and certainly it’s a vehicle we were glad to see seized and we were very happy with the process,” he said.
