Making the Case for Forfeiture Series: GOVERNMENT'S BIG GRAB CIVIL FORFEITURE. Hundreds of Millions of Dollars in Assets Seized from Drug Traffickers Are Plowed Back into Law Enforcement. for Some, This Is a `Delicious Irony.' Part 2 of a Five-Part Series. First of Two Articles Appearing Today. Part 1 Ran Sept. 28

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CALL it "jalopy justice."

Five years ago, local drug traffickers flaunted their new-found wealth by driving through this suburban community in snazzy new Porsches, Ferraris, and BMWs. Then came the crackdown.

Police grabbed the criminals' fancy wheels, seizing them under California's 1988 asset-forfeiture law. Drug dealers tried to steer around the law by leasing their costly cars. But police then confiscated the equity in their leases.

Today, Ventura County drug dealers are a chastened lot, forced to drive old "clunkers" not worth seizing, says Ronald Janes, senior attorney with the Ventura County District Attorney's office.

Mr. Janes says proudly: …