Mexico auctions criminals' properties to help poor communities

Mexico City: Luxury properties that once belonged to Mexican kingpins involved in the narcotics trade were auctioned on Sunday, raising nearly $3 million for government welfare programs, Mexico's Service for Asset Management and Disposal (SAE) said.

According to a press release by the SAE, the Mexican government sold a third of some 27 properties put on auction, ranging from houses with swimming pools and escape tunnels, ranches to luxury apartments, and raised 56.6 million pesos ($2.9 million).

The auction was part of the government's push to recoup some of the wealth amassed by the country's organised criminal groups, the SAE said.

Most of the money raised through the auction will be spent to alleviate poverty in mountain communities in the southern state of Guerrero, which have been ravaged by violence related to narcotics trafficking, SAE Director Ricardo Rodriguez Vargas said in the press release.

The rest will be used to fund anti-narcotics programs for youth, he added.

Later this month, seized jewellery will be put on auction, the SAE said.