Seized Drugs And Weapons

AIMD-00-17 Seized Drugs and Weapons: DEA Needs to Improve Certain Physical Safeguards and Strengthen Accountability

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent agency that works for Congress. The GAO watches over Congress, and investigates how the federal government spends taxpayers dollars. The Comptroller General of the United States is the leader of the GAO, and is appointed to a 15-year term by the U.S. President. The GAO wants to support Congress, while at the same time doing right by the citizens of the United States. They audit, investigate, perform analyses, issue legal decisions and report anything that the government is doing. This is one of their reports.

Profits from drug-related crimes, including cash, are subject to forfeiture to the gov¿t. In addition to the Drug Enforcement Admin. (DEA), state and local law enforcement agencies also seize cash during their drug enforcement operations. These state and local agencies may transfer seized cash to the DEA for processing. This audit concluded that the DEA needed to: (1) better define when the seizing agents or officers should count seized cash; (2) define a timeframe for taking seized cash to a bank to minimize the time the DEA holds seized cash; and (3) speed the transfer of seized cash to the U.S. Marshals Service by mandating the use of wire transfers. During the period Aug. 1, 2007, through Nov. 24, 2008, the DEA processed almost $522 million in seized cash.