Hitting Criminals Where it Really Hurts

Hitting Criminals Where it Really Hurts

Over £16 million in confiscation orders, £3.2m worth of assets seized or frozen and £500k in cash seized.

Watches, diamonds, gold, houses, cars, designer clothing…even a pension; these are some of the assets seized by Cleveland Police under the Proceeds of Crime Act in addition to seizing cash and freezing bank accounts.  

Cleveland Police’s Economic Crime Unit is hitting criminals where it really hurts by taking back cash and expensive items bought with ill gotten gains.

The Confiscation Team has seized over £500,000 in cash from criminals over the last two years, along with luxury items such as Rolex watches and gold chains.

One specialist police staff investigator in the team successfully secured a total of £266,000 in confiscated assets since April 2024. Upon hearing about this, Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Matt Storey approved funding for an additional civilian investigator role within the team to build on these fantastic results.

Under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA), police have extensive powers to disrupt criminal activity and recover illicit assets gained through crime, which can include seizing cryptocurrency and other digital assets.

The team first seized cryptocurrency assets in 2024, as part of a blackmail investigation involving a teenager. Despite no charges or criminal conviction, the team were able to seize assets of over £9,000 in various cryptocurrencies in a digital wallet linked to activity on messaging app Telegram, as they were believed to be linked to criminality.

As well as bank accounts and cash, the team can also work to seize other items of high value such as cars, designer clothing and bags, and even animals such as valuable dog breeds or Koi carp.

Organised Crime Chief Inspector, Dave Glass said: “The work of the Economic Crime Unit ensures that crime doesn’t pay. We disrupt criminal activity by removing the benefit of crime from criminals at every opportunity.

“We can confiscate all kinds of assets – houses, savings, cars and even pensions. Literally anything that we believe has been paid for with money made from criminal activity, we can seize.  It also stays on their record for life, and we can revisit at any time. 

“We can also use POCA as a tool to compensate victims.  Even where the assets are not linked to any crime affecting the victim, we can restrain and confiscate a suspect’s assets to compensate a victim. We have successfully compensated victims of fraud, blackmail and robbery, but any acquisitive crime can be considered under POCA.

“The meticulous enquiries carried out by the team in these complex investigations really brings in some great results in disrupting criminal networks, depriving criminals of  any benefit they have made from crime and ensuring that this money goes back to the victims and to the community.”

The PCC visited the Economic Crime Unit to see how investment into its expansion he has provided is delivering results.

The PCC added: “Over the past two years, the dedication and expertise of Cleveland Police’s Economic Crime Unit has led to the seizure of more than half a million pounds from those who seek to profit from crime. This is an outstanding achievement.

“I believe it is vital that we reinvest proceeds of crime back into tackling the very offences they stem from. By directing these funds into the Economic Crime Unit, we are creating additional roles focused on investigating fraud and other complex financial crimes - an area of policing that continues to grow and demand greater resource.

“This approach sends a powerful message: we are not only taking money out of criminals’ hands, but we are using it to strengthen our response and protect our communities even further. The work of this team often goes unseen, carried out quietly and diligently behind the scenes, but it is absolutely essential. They thoroughly deserve recognition for their professionalism, persistence, and the real impact they are making.”

Pic: This haul of Rolex watches was seized by the Economic Crime Team under the Proceeds of Crime Act. 

 

Interesting seizures:

Pension

The CEO of a charity had stolen over £128,000, spending the money on luxury items such as hotels and expensive pens. He had few physical assets, having spent the stolen funds but had reached an aged where he had a significant pension pot worth over £300,000. His pension was held whilst criminal and confiscation investigations were carried out, then later cashed in and used to pay compensation to the charity to cover the full amount stolen from them.

Diamonds

When a man was arrested on suspicion of drugs offences, his caravan was searched revealing the hoard of sparkly gems.  It was initially believed that these were cubic zirconia as they had been scattered across the top of a mirror along with a magnum of champagne, but following a jeweller’s assessment it was established that they were in fact real diamonds valued at over £3,000. They were listed as assets under POCA and later forfeited at court.

House

When Roads Policing officers stopped two men in a vehicle and searched the car, drugs, and a designer handbag were recovered.  This led to a property search where more drugs were found.  Further financial enquiries were conducted by the Economic Crime Unit who found equity in a house and crypto currency. The benefit the criminals had made through drugs was considered sufficiently high to make a restraint application, so that none of the assets could be disposed of during the ongoing criminal and confiscation cases. The benefit from drugs was valued at around £166,000 and assets of £52,000 were seized to pay off some of the order.  The balance will remain with the defendant for life, and any future assets can be looked at again for seizure, even if they have been made legitimately.

Bundles of cash!

When officers pulled over a car and spoke with a very nervous driver, who seemed suspicious, they carried out a search of the vehicle. In the footwell of the passenger seat, they found a huge amount of cash - £129,355! The man was arrested on suspicion of possession of criminal property and the cash was recovered by the arresting officers. The Economic Crime Unit seized the cash under POCA, with their financial enquiries revealing that the man had made only £60,000 of legitimate income over the last six years. He was believed to be involved in collecting and delivering cash and drugs. He later disclaimed the cash, and it was forfeited under the civil arm of POCA.

Frozen bank accounts

During an investigation into drugs activity, £300,000 in cash and other assets including several Rolex watches were recovered. Financial enquiries carried out by the Economic Crime Unit identified several bank accounts containing tens of thousands of pounds, all of which were then frozen under POCA. The funds were believed to be from criminality and £122,000 from all of the frozen accounts were forfeited.

22 Rolex watches!

The Border Force seized 22 Rolex watches addressed to a man in the Cleveland Police area.  The addressee claimed to have no knowledge of the watches and did not wish to claim them.  The were then forfeited under POCA and sold for £86,300.       

Caravan at holiday park

The Economic Crime Unit investigated a man convicted of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and money laundering, after his benefit from his crimes was deemed to be significant, and an order was granted against him for over £2m pounds.

The financial investigation revealed that he had various assets, including a caravan at a popular theme park, high value jewellery and a large amount of cash which had been recovered during the investigation. These assets were found to be valued at around £400,000, which were used to pay towards his confiscation order. The rest of the order will remain with him for life and claimed if he has assets that can be seized.

Over £300,000 in cash!

During the search of a property in Middlesbrough, after officers executed a drugs warrant, cannabis, cash counting machines, tick lists and £313,590 in cash was seized under POCA. The man was later charged with drugs and money laundering offences.

When the confiscation proceedings were linked to the criminal case, the man denied that the cash belonged to him so it could not be attributed to him as an asset for confiscation.  However, as the cash had also been recovered under POCA, forfeiture was set on the cash outside of the confiscation proceedings and full amount was forfeited.

Carrier bag full of cash

A man was arrested during a drugs operation and a search of his home address revealed £83,160 in cash inside of a JD carrier bag.  The cash was seized under POCA and the man claimed that the cash had nothing to do with him.  The full amount was forfeited at Teesside Magistrates’ Court with nobody contesting it.