Hampshire Constabulary seized £3.3million in cash and assets in the past 12 months using the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Cash seized in Ventnor, Isle of Wight
The massive amount marks the force’s most successful year since powers to seize cash and assets from criminals came into force in 2003. The constabulary said it almost doubled the amount claimed back the previous year.
One seizure was against Imtiaz Ali, 46, who was the financier behind a cannabis importation ring that brought more than 119 kilos of the drug into the Alton area.
Ali was sentenced to eight years in prison, and a confiscation order for £2.3million in cash and assets – including houses in Dubai, properties in the UK, cash in bank accounts and a very expensive watch.
Although he is due to be released in six months, if he does not pay back the £2.3million by the time of his release, he will receive a further eight years on top of his existing sentence.
The Proceeds of Crime Act allows the police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to seize cash, confiscate assets, and conduct the civil recovery of assets accrued by criminals as part of their criminal businesses and activities.
Hampshire Constabulary’s Financial Investigation Unit (FIU) has worked closely with the CPS to take the profit out of crime, hitting back at career and organised criminals by stripping them of the cash and assets which allow them to pursue a lifestyle to which they are not entitled.
Significant confiscations have been made relating to cases on the Isle of Wight, Farnborough and Aldershot, Alton and Waterlooville, amongst others.
Detective Sergeant Lee Macarthur, who leads the FIU, said: “We are strengthening the law enforcement agencies’ ability to deal with offenders more robustly by stripping them of their lifestyle and cash and, as a result, making Hampshire and the Isle of Wight a hostile place for criminals.
“We have had some very significant seizures across the county in the past 12 months. Our message to criminals is that it doesn’t stop at receiving a prison sentence – we will go after your money, your house, your car, your belongings, anything we can prove has been gained through the profits of a criminal lifestyle.”
A further £572,867 has been claimed back through forfeiture orders successfully gained against 37 people believed to have come from or to be used in the commission of criminal activity.
Funds forfeited from criminals are divided equally between the Home Office and Hampshire Constabulary – where money will be invested into frontline policing.