Ruling on purchasing customs goods that their owners have not collected

Question:
Is it permissible for us to purchase goods that the customs authority sells at public auction, which are owned by individuals but who have delayed in collecting them?

Answer:
If there is a legitimate legal basis for it, there is no harm in purchasing them.
However, if you know that they were taken unjustly, without a legitimate legal basis, it is not permissible for you to purchase them, because in that case you would be assisting in sin and transgression.
As for if you know that they were taken through a legitimate legal means, because it was contraband of what Allah has forbidden, or because he was dealing in items that warrant confiscation by the state due to his doing what warrants that, then he deserves to be punished, and you may purchase what was taken from him, because it was taken through a legitimate legal means and a legal punishment.
However, if you know that he does not deserve that, or if you have doubts about it, do not purchase it.