The sale of the six cars would recover a total of $21,370 in unpaid fines owed by their owners.
While police and court staff were delighted with the haul, the owner of one seized vehicle took exception.
Sergeant Andrew Camp, of the strategic traffic unit, said the 35-year-old man was not present when his car was seized yesterday morning and taken to Turners Auctions Ltd to be sold.
On discovering his car had been taken, the man went to the auction site on Portsmouth Dr and took the car back, parking it outside the fines collection office on Cumberland St.
After police realised what had happened, the man was tracked down, arrested and charged with rescuing seized property.
Ministry of Justice district collections manager Neville Griffiths said the vehicle was one of 120 checked during the four-hour operation yesterday morning.
The largest unpaid fine in the blitz was for $9400.
Mr Griffiths said the seizure operation was part of a "crackdown" on overdue fines by police and the Ministry of Justice, and was one of the more successful operations carried out by police and the court.
More operations were planned, he said.
If Otago residents wanted to avoid having their vehicles seized, Mr Griffiths recommended they pay on time or visit the Dunedin District Court Collections Unit to discuss alternative arrangements to pay.
"You only have to get one fine. If you can't pay it within 28 days, you can make arrangements to pay it off.
"But if you ignore it, then the fine becomes overdue and enforcement action is taken.
"We can seize vehicles and other property to pay the fine," he said.
The blitz
$500,000 in fines outstanding in Otago
$21,370 in unpaid fines recovered
Six vehicles seized by police
