Force's Economic Crime Unit (ECU) recovers more than £125,000

Our Economic Crime Unit (ECU) has recovered more than £125,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) over the last three months.

On Monday (8 January), a Rugby man was ordered to pay £77,490 within three months at Warwick Crown Court or face a two-year prison sentence.

The 46-year-old, who was arrested in October 2021 and again in April 2022, had already been sentenced to six and a half years in prison in May 2023 for drug and money laundering offences.

The latest result comes on the back of several other positive outcomes at the end of 2023.

In December, the ECU team secured a cash forfeiture order for £37,000 at Coventry Magistrates’ Court.

It followed the arrest of a 40-year-old man from Surrey at Tamworth service station on the M42.

The man was initially arrested on suspicion of drink driving offences. However subsequent checks of his car, which was seized by officers for being uninsured, led to a discovery of unexplained cash.

Despite it not being possible to link the cash directly to any criminal offences, the Fraud and Financial Investigation teams were successfully able to argue in court that it should be forfeited. 

The last two months of the year also saw the ECU secure the forfeiture of a further £13,000 cash in relation to drugs supply across the county.

On 8 November, around £2,600 was forfeited from a man arrested at his house in Rugby on suspicion of supplying cannabis while a further £4,200 was ordered to be forfeited from three men who were arrested on suspicion of supplying Class A drugs after their car was stopped and searched in Nuneaton.

And in mid-December a confiscation order was made at Birmingham Crown Court for £5,360 on the back of a Rugby man being arrested on suspicion of class A drug supply offences.

ECU Supervisor Bob Turner said: "These recent results are a testament to the professionalism commitment and tenacity of the financial investigators who work tirelessly to make sure every opportunity to recover the proceeds of crime is exploited to its maximum potential.

"It also reflects positively on how well we combine with, and support, a wide range of teams across the force to achieve the best possible outcome in relation to the use of their powers under POCA."

Issued: Laura Maltby, Corporate Communications