Local law enforcement agencies received about $300,000 Tuesday in forfeited money resulting from the sale of a building on South Broad Street whose owner was convicted in 2006 of selling supplies to people so they could make methamphetamine.

Joseph Swafford, who was the owner of Broadway Home and Garden on South Broad Street in Chattanooga, is currently serving a 30-year federal prison sentence after being convicted of selling iodine to people the government says he knew were manufacturing the drug. Iodine is a common ingredient used to make meth.

The conviction resulted in the forfeiture of Mr. Swafford’s property at 3146 South Broad St. Agencies that received portions of the proceeds from the sale include the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the East Ridge Police Department, the Chattanooga Police Department, the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission and the Internal Revenue Service.

The sheriff’s department received the most money, according to a prepared statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office — close to $210,000.

According to past reports, Rain Dance Property Solutions bought the property last December for about $500,000.

Mr. Swafford has appealed his sentence, and he is scheduled to receive a new sentence Nov. 20 in U.S. District Court in Chattanooga, according to court records.

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