SANTO DOMINGO. An imposing late model white Land Rover, seized from Sobeida Felix Morel, as well as a flotilla of vehicles belonging to her lover Jose Figueroa Agosto, which include a jaguar, make up part of the more than 3,000 pieces of evidence under the custody of the District Attorney for the National District.

A Porsche and a Ferrari, valued at RD$13 million, are more of the no less luxurious brands seized in the case of Figueroa Agosto. They are under wraps, except for an armored SUV that is at the National Department of Drug Control (DNCD).

Another 200 vehicles that are stored in a lot in Manoguayabo can be added to these vehicles.

The 28 timepieces that were confiscated from Figueroa Agosto are in a vault at the Banco de Reservas. The last one to go in was a gold Rolex, valued at US$200,000, recently confiscated in a raid on a drug trafficker.

The manner of taking care of the seized assets that come from investigations of criminal cases has taken a major change of direction. Some 1,700 firearms of different calibers among which are five that belong to a kidnapping that began in San Francisco de Macoris, but where the accused are being tried in the capital, are part of the chain.

There are also 500 knives and machetes that were used to commit crimes, along with 80 television sets and even pieces of bottles.

An armored vault, with double protected walls, armor, and airtight doors are the protection for the new depository for arms and shell casings picked up as proof and evidence in the cases.

The Evidence Control Office has substituted the old way of storing the evidence in a depository at the Palace of Justice in Ciudad Nueva, where they piled up with no organization.

Just like the US

In the style of evidence lockers in the United States, the District Attorney is jealously guarding numerous assets in a four story building seized from former Army Captain Quirino Ernesto Paulino Castillo, on the Emilio Prud'Homme Street.

It is a restricted area, off-limits to anyone not a part of the system that stores firearms, television sets, motorcycles, computers, stoves, refrigerators, radios, irons, knives, stilettos, pieces of wood and other objects.

The building is dedicated to the handling of the evidence that is used as proof. From the most insignificant objects to luxury vehicles and firearms, they all have their place.

A cargo elevator serves to move many of the objects. The area has security cameras and alarms.

The District Attorney, Alejandro Moscoso Segarra, reported that he has created a modern computerized system that allows the immediate location of any requested piece of evidence.

He emphasizes that no matter how insignificant the object that are there might look, they are key pieces in the investigative process and at the time of presenting a case before the courts.

He commented that, as a result of the new organization, they have established mechanisms to quickly find any object that is needed.

He underlined the fact that all of the items that are found at a crime scene are taken to this department as soon as the case is filed.

"In the history of the District Attorney's office, this is the term of office in which the most money has been confiscated", said Moscoso Segarra. He cited the US$4.6 million seized from Agosto and Sobeida, later another US$200,000 that were tied to the case, and the RD$50 million from the Solano Money Exchange case, while everyday there are monies seized in different amounts that are deposited in an account.

De Diario Libre