Exactly. Whenever I see something like this (e.g. Philippines police has also bulldozed some expensive cars recently) I always wonder if they actually are idiots or have extracted the valuable internal parts first.
"... really? You're the guy we seized these from, holding your finger under your nose like a mustache. To cover your mustache."
If you object to the entire principle (or, at least, need to be seen objecting to the entire principle), destroying the assets in a visible public spectacle is the way to go.
California had at least some high profile "street racer" destruction back in the day, and I don't believe any western government, upon seizing a big load of cocaine, goes about trying to figure out how they can unload it to someone else. At least, in easily tracked ways...
Ok, let them buy it again and seize it from them again if they use it unlawfully. Double profit.
> seizing a big load of cocaine, goes about trying to figure out how they can unload it to someone else
Because there is an internationally agreed war on drugs. Cocaine (unlike meth which can be officially prescribed as Desoxyn in the US and heroine which also is used medically in some cases e.g. in the UK) is officially considered pure evil with no legitimate medical use (it can be used for good but in practice 99.9% of its use is abuse and even the 0.1% who use it for good also do that illegally).
AFAIK there is no international agreement on fighting cryptocurrencies mining so far, the mining equipment (let alone the power supply units) are perfectly legal to manufacture, sell, buy, own and use (unless you actually steal electricity to power them) in many countries.
Even such a totalitarian and unreasonably conservative country as Iran officially allowed (and taxed) mining until they found out they are running low on electricity.
This isn't true at all; cocaine is a Schedule II drug, not a Schedule I like marijuana. It has historically had plenty of medical use.
I'm personally glad contractors aren't handling things like this, and would like to see their role diminshed in general.
I have also heard big box retailers (i.e. Best Buy) will destroy unsold items to discourage employees from purposefully hiding or down-selling things in the hope they can grab it for cheap or free.
Though a lot of places will unload these items to wholesalers or discount retailers, and some gets donated to clothing charities. It goes through a few steps first.
Makes me unbearably sad we're such a wasteful species.
I don't think the financial disincentive is necessarily corrupt, in the form of fines or asset forfeiture, but I think that they should never be allowed to contribute to government revenue in any way.
If the government has any incentive to prosecute somebody, other than a well founded and provable basis for believing they committed a crime, then the justice system just becomes a weapon to turn against the citizens it's supposed to be protecting. If the government has a financial incentive to prosecute certain crimes over others, then how the law is enforced is not going to align with community needs. For instance, that's why there's never enough police to attend burglaries, but always enough police for handing out speeding tickets.
Similar reason why drugs are destroyed with a lot of fanfare in most Latin American countries (er, when they are). Surely it'd be easier and cleaner to bury it somewhere after soaking it or something, but no, they need to make a pyramid of drugs and have someone throw a pyre at it to create a big symbolic bonfire that is a toxic mess to clean up.