Nearly £500,000 In Cash Seized From Vehicle Following Stop Check

Leicestershire Roads Policing Unit (RPU) got more than they bargained for when they carried out a stop-check on a van only to find somewhere in the region of £465,000 in the rear of the vehicle.

A spokesperson for the unit said:

“Following a stop-check on a van earlier today, we’ve seized quite a bit of cash out the rear of the vehicle.

“We estimate it to be in the region of £465,000. The Driver has some explaining to do”.

This huge haul of cash comes only a few months after officers from West Midland Police found around £500,000 in the back of a vehicle that was stopped on the M6 on 19th December.

It is highly likely that, unless the person in possession of the cash can account for it all, then it will be seized by the police and could even end up being used to fund future police operations and/or fund local community projects.

The police are able to claim some of the confiscated money back to reinvest into policing, through an incentive scheme.

For confiscations of assets rather than cash, the Home Office gets half and the other half is spilt equally between the police, the Crown Prosecution Service, and the courts.

Where cash is seized, the Home Office gets half and the police get half.

In some cases, a judge can decide to award a percentage of any confiscated money to the victims of crime as compensation.

There have also been schemes where seized money has been given to community schemes.

In the past, Devon & Cornwall police have used funds which have been seized from criminals in order to fund local community projects.

Any money earned as a result of, or in connection with, an offence can be recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

That also includes assets bought with the proceeds of crime – a red Ferrari and a Bentley Continental car, jewellery, watches and properties within London and the Home Counties are among assets recovered by the Metropolitan Police in the last five years.

This latest cash seizure just goes to highlight the importance stop-checks on vehicles by dedicated units such as Road Policing Units.

Got a story, video or one-off blog that you would like to share with us? 

You can contact our team of former emergency services & armed forces personnel either through our Facebook page, via Twitter ( @ES_News_ ) or you can contact us via email: contact@emergency-services.news or call us on: 0115 888 0592

If you run or manage a ‘job’ social media account and you would like us to share one of your stories then send us a tweet or a message! 

If you would like to write an article that you would like us to share (it can be about anything to do with the emergency services / NHS) whether you serve in the emergency services / NHS or whether you are a member of the public who has had a good experience with the emergency services, then feel free to contact our team; anonymously if you prefer.  

We are proud to act as a voice for the emergency services, armed forces & health service, with over 500,000 people visiting our website each month.