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Payback time for big spenders

Northumbria Police

20 March 2007


Criminals in Northumbria who make a living from their ill-gotten gains are being warned by police that payback time is looming.
The force is launching a big push to seize the assets of criminals, targeting both low level offenders as well as those who profit from organised, serious crime. And officers are seeking the public's help to root out the villains.
Operation Payback is the culmination of a year-long asset recovery plan through which £3m has been seized since the beginning of April 2006.
Under the Proceeds of Crime Act, police can seize any cash or goods if they are believed to be criminal property or being used to commit crime. As part of Chief Constable Mike Craik's pledge of Total Policing, Northumbria have taken every opportunity to use these powers.
"Asset recovery is proving a powerful weapon in the fight against crime", says Detective Superintendent Mike Jones, of the force's Crime Department, who is responsible for the Economic Crime Unit.
" It's no secret that many offenders see prison as an occupational hazard of being a habitual criminal and just accept it. But stripping them of their assets which could see them lose their homes, other possessions and their families is much harder for them to take."
" We've already had a substantial financial impact on criminals at the higher end of the scale, who finance expensive lifestyles through widespread illegal activities.
"But they're not the only criminals we're interested in, we're also taking a good hard look at what you could call disfunctional role models - go into any estate, neighbourhood or community and you will find a number of individuals who won't be working or have any visible means of income, yet enjoy a lifestyle and possessions that many would envy.
"How do they finance that lifestyle? By benefit fraud, dealing in counterfeit goods, bootlegging, cigarette smuggling and, of course, drug dealing."
This is where the public come in. Leaflets are being distributed asking local people to help the police pinpoint likely offenders.
"People can pass on information anonymously if they want and it will be followed up - all we need is a tip-off that someone is worth a closer look and we'll take it from there," says Det Supt Jones.
"And they can give us the information confident that they will never be asked to appear in court as a witness, so their anonymity is protected at all times."
The Payback campaign has three main elements:
All of these can be made subject of asset recovery orders, as well as cash.
Asset recovery is the police's way of telling criminals: you're not as smart as you think you are.
Money Laundering
The Proceeds of Crime Act re-defines and simplifies the definition of Money Laundering.
As well as money, it covers any property which may have been obtained as result of money criminally gained.
So if you are enjoying watching a Plasma TV, driving round in a second family car, lounging on the expensive three piece suite, cooking in the new fitted kitchen or sitting in your newly-landscaped garden and it's all been paid for by the profits of crime, you are a money launderer.
To investigate, all the police have to show is that you knew or suspected that it was criminal property, even if that suspicion was a 'mere inkling'. The Police and Criminal Evidence Act gives the police the power to seize anything that is evidence of an offence.
There are three specific money laundering offences:
Cash Seizure
Police can seize cash over £1,000 if they suspect it comes from crime or is to be used in crime. It is dealt with as a civil procedure so police only have to show 'on the balance of probabilities' that this is the case.
If cash has been seized police will invite the owner to explain where the money came from. If their account is verified as correct the money is returned. Otherwise the police will apply to the Magistrates Court within 48 hours to have the money detained while an investigation into its source is carried out. The money can eventually be forfeited by the magistrates.
As this is a civil, not a criminal,  process it does not qualify for free Legal Aid and the onus is just as much on owner to show the money is legitimate as it is on the police to show it is illegitimate.
Confiscation
Confiscation only applies after an offender has been convicted.
This means that if a criminal steals power tools valued at £500, then police will confiscate £500. It does not matter whether or not the tools are recovered and it is completely separate from compensation.
It is easier to enforce confiscation than get compensation money back form the criminals. If they don't pay the confiscated amount they go back into prison and when they come out they still have to pay.  If they cannot afford it after being released from prison, police can go back to the court at any point in the future when they can afford it. If they die owing the money, police can apply to have the confiscated amount removed from their estate.
Police can also confiscate the value of everything which a criminal owns at the time or conviction and everything they have spent in the last six years, if they are convicted of:
This means a criminal would need to sell just about everything to pay for the confiscation order.
Restraint
Police can apply for a restraining order to safeguard the anticipated amount to be confiscated from a criminal, so they cannot dispose of anything in advance. This includes anything anywhere in the world, like that villa in Spain or second property in Thailand. A new Aston Martin and over £300,000 in cash was seized by Northumbria Police during a long-running investigation into money laundering and drug dealing.
Led by Crime Operations and assisted by officers from the Area Support Group, the Metro and the Economic Crime Unit, police raided 20 properties across Northumbria, Durham and West Yorkshire over two days last week.
The investigation, which has been underway for 16 months, led to three women and ten men being arrested on suspicion of money laundering and conspiracy to supply controlled drugs. All have been bailed for three months pending further enquiries.
The raids also led to police seizing two kios of cannabis, a quantity of cocaine and £340,000 in cash - around £300,000 of which was found in plastic carrier bags at a house in Consett.
Two high-powered cars were also seized, an Audi RS4 and a ten-day-old Aston Martin DB9 convertible, worth a combined total of £195,000. A number of homes in the Newcastle area worth a total of £1.5m were also "restrained" by police.
Detective Inspector John Cox, Crime Operations said: "This is a long running and complex investigation into an organised crime group we suspect are involved in supplying drugs and money laundering in the region.
"Working with the Regional Asset Recovery Team we are making extensive enquiries into how these people funded their luxury lifestyles and came to have so much hard cash in their homes.
"We are determined to tackle those who bring misery to others through high-level crime and drug dealing."If you suspect somebody is profiting from criminal activities you can report it here on this website anonymously.
Simply follow the link below and fill out as much information as you can - you don't have to give your name, address or contact details if you don't want to and all information will be treated in the strictest confidence.