A man has been arrested after a traffic stop in London led to a stash of over £1 million in cash.
On Tuesday 26th May, officers from the Met’s Operation Venice team stopped a suspicious vehicle in a car park in Colney Hatch Lane, N10.
When officers searched a 31-year-old male who was in the vehicle, they found that he had £12,000 cash on him. He was asked to account for why he had the money on him, but he was not able to.
The male was arrested by officers under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) and was taken to a north-west London police station.
As part of their enquiries, officers then carried out a search of the suspects home in Haringey.
Inside, they found what is thought to be around £1 million in cash, which was stored in shoe boxes and bags. Officers also found several passports.
Detective Chief Inspector Shaun White, who leads the Operation Venice Command, said:
“Whilst we are in the process of counting all of this cash, we believe we have seized almost £1 million.
“There is no justifiable reason for this much cash not be kept in a bank account, unless it has been sourced from ill-gotten activities involving criminality.
“This is a great seizure involving both strands of Operation Venice – our Scorpion drivers (who use motorbikes and cars to stop criminals using powered two-wheelers) and our Venice Investigations Team (VIT), who carry out the searches and develop the arrests through court in order to secure convictions.”
“Operation Venice officers work around the clock, alongside, and supported by officers from around the Met to tackle serious and organised crime.
“We will continue to work with them to arrest and prosecute those who believe they can get away with criminal behaviour in the Capital.”
The suspect remains in police custody at this time.
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