N.Y. Police Confiscate 30 Cars Driven by Accused Drug Buyers

NEW YORK — Police have begun confiscating the vehicles of people who drive to New York neighborhoods to buy “crack” and other drugs, authorities said Monday.

Thirty cars, 27 with New Jersey plates, were seized in 43 drug arrests over the weekend in the Washington Heights and Lower East Side sections of Manhattan, police said.

The vehicles, which included several expensive sports cars and a Cadillac, were displayed at a news conference on the roof of a federal Drug Enforcement Administration parking garage.

Police Commissioner Benjamin Ward had this message for suburban drug buyers: “If you come to New York to buy crack, bring carfare and be prepared to take the bus back.”

Sellers Take Over Streets

Crack is a powerful, smokeable form of cocaine whose sellers have virtually taken over the streets of some neighborhoods.

“When they come back home without mommy or daddy’s car, the criminal justice system will be the least of their worries,” said Sterling Johnson Jr., the city’s special narcotics prosecutor.

Police were not targeting cars from outside the state or city, said Robert Strang, spokesman for the DEA. “It just happened that way,” he said.

Those arrested ranged in age from 16 to 39, Ward said. All were charged with possession of a controlled substance.

Cites Federal Law

U.S. Atty. Rudolph W. Giuliani said the cars were seized under a federal law that allows the government to keep vehicles used in drug trafficking.

The statute is used frequently to seize the drug seller’s vehicle--confiscated cars account for about a third of the national DEA fleet--but not usually the average drug buyer’s car.