A Rolex watch auctioned on eBay by the Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) has yielded a return to the Exchequer "three to four times higher" than would have been obtained through a conventional auction.
The two-year-old watch, described as a “Ladies Rolex Perpetual Datejust”, was seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act. It was sold last night for €7,000. This was the first time the bureau has auctioned an item online.
The head of the Cab, Det Chief Supt Eugene Corcoran, described it as successful experiment, and said the bureau would seek to utilise other online avenues for sale of seized items. "It's tough to dispose of property in this economic climate," said Det Chief Supt Corcoran.
“By doing this with this Rolex watch we feel we have achieved a price that is three to four times higher for the State than we would have achieved in a conventional auction, as we would have done in the past.
“It’s something we’ll think seriously about and see what scope we’ve got for maximising all of the innovations that are now available . . . If we’re satisfied with the vetting of purchasers and security issues, there’s no reason why we can’t use every avenue in this sphere in the future.”
He added that the use of online auctioning was also a useful means of reaching a larger and more international audience.
“We want to maximise the return for the State and reach larger audiences and I think it’s been successful in that regard. It is easier to reach people outside of the jurisdiction this way.
“We have sold items to people from other countries in the past. The helicopter we seized from Roger O’Grady last year was sold to a buyer from another country.
“If you’ve got a speciality ... you won’t always find a buyer too close to home.”
The Cab also secured a red Ferrari and more than €26,000 in a High Court order against Mr O’Grady (30), who had a number of addresses at Ballinphuill, Tibuhine, Castlerea, Co Roscommon and Frenchpark, Co Roscommon as well as in Co Cavan.