A Texas police department says the decision to convert a seized sports car into its own cruiser to be used as a community outreach tool has been a success.
The 1005hp 2007 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 with after-market modifications for racing was seized during a large methamphetamine raid in June of 2011 conducted by the DEA and the Comal County Metro Narcotics Task Force.
The New Braunfels Police Department was awarded the vehicle in 2013 following the conviction and sentencing of Chase Freeman and dubbed the vehicle as "Coptimus Prime" when it debuted in 2015.
All of the funds used to wrap the vehicle, add lights and engine maintenance came from other seized funds. The vehicle has not been used a patrol car and has instead been used as a community outreach tool in local parades, school-related functions, during National Night Out and at other community events.
Future plans for the Corvette are to sell the vehicle at auction and that money will then be returned to the seizure fund.
The police department's fleet also includes several other vehicles that have come from asset forfeiture, but none as high profile as the Corvette.
The raid the vehicle was seized in broke up a large meth trafficking cell linked to the La Familia Michoacana. Investigators found that the gang moved roughly 25-pounds of pure meth per month in the San Antonio Metro area, netting roughly 4.5-million dollars a month for La Familia.
A total of 15 people were arrested in San Antonio, New Braunfels, Austin, Atlanta, and California. The local raid was also part of several other raids in various locations that netted drugs, high-caliber weapons, cars, cash, jewelry, and other assets totaling $500 thousand dollars, along with a Guadalupe River campground valued at $1-million.
