Midland crooks forced to cough up £1.6m in ill-gotten gains
POLICE in the West Midlands clawed back over £1.6 million from convicted criminals in the last year.
The force’s economic crime unit secured around 100 confiscation or forfeiture orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) to make sure crooks did not benefit from any illegal earnings in the future.
Court orders are pursued after investigations prove criminals have financially benefited from their crimes, whether in the form of hard cash or property.
Those who don’t pay up face extended prison sentences, although the debt never goes away and officers are able to recover what is owed in the future.
Last month, Usman Sikander, aged 33, of Havelock Road, Sparkhill, was ordered to pay back £25,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act for his part in a £500,000 counterfeit clothes operation.
Sikander, who admitted 38 offences of possession of goods with a false trade mark for sale, was handed a 12-month sentence, suspended for two years.
Any recovered money goes towards compensating victims or is invested into helping communities under the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Active Citizen’s Fund.
Det Chief Insp Alex Pritchard, who heads the economic crime unit (ECU), said: “We know criminals involved in the likes of drug dealing and fraud are likely to have accrued large sums of money from their illegal activities.
“So them being convicted and jailed is not the end of things, it’s just the start for us as we seek to trace the cash and prove it’s ‘dirty money.’
“These can often be complex enquiries but we have very skilled staff who are able to pinpoint their illegal gains and ensure that crime doesn’t pay.”
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster, said: “It’s always pleasing to see the police deal with criminals robustly, recover proceeds of crime and ensure justice is served.
“I will invest much of the recovered assets and cash back into our region, to support communities that are determined to prevent crime and keep their areas safe and secure.”