Police Sold Drug Car

Cocaine Stash Slipped Through D.M. Auction

Des Moines police got a big surprise when they asked used-car dealer Tom
Bickel where he bought an Infiniti sedan, and how he managed to resell it
without noticing 28 pounds of cocaine hidden behind the rear seat.

"I said, 'We let it slip by us, but it went through you guys first,' "
Bickel recalled.

He wasn't kidding. The car, complete with $1.3 million worth of cocaine,
had been sold in December at Des Moines' police auction, Chief William
Moulder confirmed this week.

When the drug stash was accidentally discovered last month, local
authorities reported that the car had been purchased at a Chicago police
auction and somehow made its way here. But they later learned the
embarrassing truth.

Des Moines officers had impounded the car about a year ago after an arrest.
They didn't check it thoroughly for drugs, because they didn't suspect any
were inside, the chief said. "We're guessing that if we had run a drug dog
through there, the dog would probably have been going nuts trying to eat
the back seat out."

The drugs were found April 20 by an employee at Car Sound in Des Moines who
was installing a stereo for the car's new owner, a 17-year-old Dallas
County boy. The store notified the boy's parents and police. The teen said
he had nothing to do with the drugs, and investigators determined that he
was telling the truth.

Police seized the drugs, then gave the car back to the teen.

The boy's parents bought the car Dec. 28 for $6,000 from Bickel Motors,
2507 N.E. Broadway Ave. Earlier that month, the dealer had purchased the
car at the police auction for $4,000.

Investigation

Moulder said he didn't know details of the arrest in which the car was
impounded. Investigators said the case remains under investigation.

Moulder said officers searched the car after it was impounded, looking for
personal belongings.

When nobody claimed the car, it was among several vehicles put up for sale
at the auction, Moulder said.

Shortly after the cocaine was found, investigators heard that the car came
from Chicago. They were surprised to learn its origin. "It was pretty
confusing," the chief said.

Federal Agents

Police are trying to determine how the cocaine got in the car's hidden
compartment. Investigators are checking into the arrest last year, and
federal drug agents also are looking into the case.

Bickel said his company has purchased cars from police auctions for many
years. Nothing sinister had ever been found in them before, he said, and
certainly nothing worth $1.3 million.

"That was definitely the most expensive car we've ever sold," he joked.