Colombian Police Turn Drug Trafficker's Seized Ferrari into a Patrol Car

The Colombian police authorities were recently confronted with this problem: what could they do with a low-mileage Ferrari 348 that was seized from a local drug lord and that no one wanted to buy?

Well, after some deep thought, they came up with a rather simple solution: turn the classic Ferrari into a patrol car painted in the Colombian national police's green and white colors, and tour the country before placing it permanently in a police museum.

The 1991 Ferrari model has only clocked around 1,200 miles (1,900 kilometers) and has been valued at US$250,000 by Colombian authorities.

The classic sports car was seized back in 2007 from Hernando Gomez Bustamante, also known as “Rasguno” or “Scratchy”, who is currently serving time in prison in the States for drug trafficking, money laundering and other crimes.

Up until recently, the vehicle was in the possession of Colombia's National Drug Office, or DNE, which was supposed to take care of seized assets from the illegal narcotics trade. But some 20 years after it was established, the government decided to shut down the division in September as…far too many drug assets were mysteriously disappearing, according to officials.

Authorities then went on to put the car for sale, but buyers stayed away, most likely due to fears of potential repercussions from drug traffickers related to Bustamante.

You can see more photos of the Ferrari 348 in Colombian Police colors over at Elcolombiano.

Story References: CBS News , Photo via Twitter/Zheva10