CAB sells gangster’s watch for €7k

The women’s Rolex placed for auction on Ebay by the Criminal Assets Bureau has been sold — for €7,000.

The Oyster Perpetual Datejust watch had been placed for sale on the site by CAB 10 days beforehand and attracted eight bids from six sources — but no late flurry.

The winning bid was lodged on Oct 9, and was matched yesterday morning, but under Ebay rules the first bid had priority.

Last night, CAB said it was happy with the sale — and added that more items are likely to be sold online.

Declan O’Reilly, bureau legal officer at CAB, said: “It reflects a good price for the watch.”

The watch, originally bought by a member of a Limerick crime gang, was bought by a bidder who had purchased items on the site on 114 other occasions and who has a 100% positive feedback rating.

Mr O’Reilly said he did not know if the winning bidder was in Ireland or overseas, but said if they lived in Dublin they could call into the CAB offices to collect the watch, or that if it was to be delivered, CAB “might waive” the stated €30 postage fee.

As for the likelihood of placing more items on Ebay in future, he said it would be “item specific”.

“We will discuss it internally — it depends on the nature of the asset,” he said, adding that smaller items such as watches lent themselves to online sale easier than property or cars.

A Rolex watch seized by CAB from a Limerick criminal has just sold on eBay for €7,000, @Limerick_Leader , http://t.co/3ySzK0PJNz

— Anne Sheridan (@annesheridan1) October 18, 2013

The €7,000 is now ploughed back into the exchequer, even if there was no late flurry of bids that could have pushed the price up.

It’s just left now to wait and see what other items CAB will place online for sale.