GREENVILLE, S.C. —When Greenville County deputies conducted an undercover sting at the strip club,  Platinum Plus, Sheriff Steve Loftis said the operation was funded by $26,000 in seized drug assets.

According to the U.S. Justice Department, the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office collected $336,932 last year through civil asset forfeitures.

The agency is not alone. In the last five years, law enforcement agencies in South Carolina have received $22.7 million in forfeiture revenues.

The limited government group, Institute for Justice, has given the state a D-minus for its high-rate of civil forfeiture cases.

“South Carolina is more focused on policing for profit, taking money off the streets, than it is for arresting bad guys and getting drugs off the street,” managing attorney Lee McGrath said.

McGrath said the state’s civil forfeiture laws offer little protection for property owners. He said when assets have been seized, often […]