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Albuquerque, NM - On Thursday February 7,
the United States Marshals Service turned over custody of two vehicles, a
1995 Lincoln Town Car valued at $1,250.00, and a 1965 Ford Mustang valued at
$8,000.00 to the Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office.
The Dona Ana County Sheriff's Office is a participating law enforcement
agency in the Southern New Mexico DEA/High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA)
Task Force and has two officers, federally-deputized, assigned full time to
the task force. The officers' initiate and are assigned complex drug
investigations at the DEA Task Force. The Dona Ana County Sheriff's
Department also provides equipment and other invaluable resources to the DEA
Task Force. The Dona Ana County Sheriff's Office will participate in the
Marshals Services equitable sharing of the Lincoln Town Car and Ford
Mustang. The Vehicles were seized by the DEA in the course of two
investigations in which the vehicles were either used in furtherance of a
drug trafficking crime or purchased with funds from illegal sources.
The Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture Program serves not only to deter
crime but also to provide valuable additional resources to state and local
law enforcement agencies. The most important objective of the Program is law
enforcement. Equitable sharing further enhances this law enforcement
objective by fostering cooperation among federal, state, and local law
enforcement agencies. Department of Justice policy requires shared monies
and property to be used for law enforcement purposes, such as:
- Law enforcement investigations
- Law enforcement training
- Law enforcement and detention facilities
- Law enforcement equipment
- Drug and gang education and awareness
programs
- Support of community-based programs
Additional
information about the U.S. Marshals Service can be found at
http://www.usmarshals.gov.
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