THE glittering lifestyle of career criminals is on display this week as a Northern Ireland auction house sells off an eye-watering £3 million-worth of assets seized by law enforcement.
A preview of the luxury goods for sale by Wilsons Auctions - including gold bars, designers watches and jewellery worth six figures - is already available.
The online auction - for 24 hours only - begins tomorrow at 11am.
There are 9kg of gold bars and 22 carat Asian gold worth more than £400,000 which is being offered without a reserve price.
They were seized under the proceeds of crime legislation and all proceeds will be returned to the public purse.
Other lots include a selection of Rolex watches including £50,000 platinum Rolex day date.
Among the high-end jewellery is a 18ct rose gold diamond tennis necklace 46.00ct worth £115,000, and a GIA Certified 5.35ct Platinum Marquise Cut Diamond Ring worth £450,000.
There are also 18ct white gold diamond ear clips, signed Cartier with a fitted case worth £160,000, a platinum art deco emerald cabochon and diamond panel bracelet worth £150,000 and two Audermars Piguet Royal Oaks watches from Cartier and Breitling.
Also on offer from the spoils of international crime are handbags by luxury brands including Chanel.
Wilsons Auctions government sales co-ordinator Michael Streight said they are "delighted to be hosting such impressive online luxury assets auction".
Its Asset Recovery Department works with 17 countries worldwide reselling assets from cryptocurrency to supercars, luxury watches and designer goods for government agencies, law enforcement agencies and insolvency practitioners.
Mr Streight described the latest auction as "a great opportunity for customers to purchase high-end, highly sought-after luxury goods, at an affordable price, from the convenience of their desktop or mobile device".
International bidders are drawn to such auctions where they usually make considerable savings on high-value items and the auction house has continued to deliver its dedicated online auction services throughout the "unprecedented times" of the pandemic.
In March the Mallusk-based company reported a 24 per cent rise in revenue for the previous year, with an increased from £29.3 million to £36.4m for the 12-month period.
The largest independently owned auction group in Ireland and Britain dropped the hammer on £342m worth of goods.
After taking a tumble in 2019, group pre-tax profits recovered last year, more than doubling from £599,000 to £1.3m.
