FREIGHTER IS TOP PRIZE IN AUCTION OF GOODS SEIZED IN DRUG WAR

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Want a souvenir from the war on drugs? Then
step right up and place your bids.

From money-counting machines to night-vision scopes, drug scales to a
318-foot cocaine freighter, the U.S. Customs Service is putting a
veritable museum of crime up for auction Saturday in Puerto Rico.

Bargain hunters will find drug-smuggling speedboats, radio encoding
machines, sports cars and cell phones galore. There are satellite
telephones and navigation systems, home security systems and yachts.

"Some of these items are very attractive, and you'll have people
fighting for them," said Evelyn Villa, a property clerk for EG and G,
the Fairfax, Va., company that runs auctions for the Customs Service.
"You can find some very good prices."

Almost all the items were seized from drug smugglers in the U.S.
Caribbean territory, a frequent stop for cocaine and heroin shipments
on their way to the United States. Authorities hold such auctions
several times a year in high-traffic drug areas.

It all goes on sale Saturday in the Condado Plaza Hotel in San Juan.
And everything must go.

The centerpiece is the 318-foot MV Tiger, a Panamanian freighter
seized June 30 by an operation with the Dutch navy off Dutch islands
in the Caribbean. Authorities found 3,080 pounds of cocaine on board,
hidden in a shipment of fish meal.

"I'd say the ship is the biggest thing we've received in a long time,"
Ms. Villa said. "We have a lot of companies interested in it. We have
people all the way from Greece coming down for this."

If you're interested in buying it, you'll need to hand over a
cashier's check for $15,000 and an identity card with a photograph
before you can bid. Losing bidders get their checks back after the
sale, while the winner's is applied to the price of the ship.

Other items don't require such deposits, but all purchasers have to
undergo background checks.

"We don't want drug smugglers getting their hands on these things
again," said Norma Morfa, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Customs Service.

None of the items on sale will be at the hotel, but the Customs
Service is showing them off at several sites this week.

And in case you're wondering, the chances of finding a powdery
windfall stuffed in the glove compartment of your newly bought car are
slim.

"No way," Ms. Villa said. "These things are thoroughly searched by the
drug dogs."