Editor’s Note
This article describes a government initiative to auction seized luxury items from drug traffickers, with proceeds funding addiction prevention and rehabilitation programs.
The Government has launched a public auction of more than 140 high-end jewels and watches seized from drug trafficking. The proceeds will be allocated to programs for the prevention, assistance, and social and labor integration of people with drug dependencies.
The electronic auction, organized by the Government Delegation for the National Plan on Drugs, will be open until next December 4th, and interested parties must deposit the required guarantee beforehand.
The auction consists of a total of 148 lots, including 23 lots of high jewelry, 33 lots of high-end watches, and 92 lots of jewelry and costume jewelry. The highest-valued pieces are presented in individual lots.
A large part of these jewels were seized in an operation investigated in courts in the Cadiz town of La Línea.
Among the most notable items are a nearly half-kilo gold chain, a gold Solomon cord, and watches from luxury brands such as Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph Vampire, Rolex Daytona Rose Gold and Rubber, and Rolex Datejust in steel and rose gold with a pink diamond dial.
The proceeds from the sale will be channeled into anti-drug programs. The associative movement of the Campo de Gibraltar (Cádiz) demands that the region be the main beneficiary, as a point of special tension for drug trafficking.
The money raised is used to give back to society the damages caused by drug dependencies and drug trafficking. The Fund for Assets Seized from Illicit Drug Trafficking and Other Related Crimes is regulated by law and is made up of assets, effects, and instruments seized by final judgment in proceedings for drug trafficking and other related crimes.
Historically, the income from this fund has been distributed as follows: approximately 67% has been dedicated to demand reduction programs, such as those mentioned above, and 43% to supply reduction, which includes the prosecution of crime and police and customs actions.
In 2025, more than 28 million euros from the Seized Assets Fund have already been distributed for these purposes.
