Dirty cash cars are seized

Dream cars worth a total of £385,000 have been seized by police investigating a major underworld fraud gang in the West Midlands.

Three suspected members of the racket have been arrested and charged as officers today unveiled the cars as their latest trophies in the war against organised crime in the region.

Among the haul is a Lamborghini worth £135,000, a £75,000 Bentley and a BMW X6 valued at £45,000. The most expensive car seized is a £140,000 Ferrari California, which police say is too valuable to be moved from the secret location where it is currently parked.

The others are all being held by West Midlands Police and were today on show outside the force’s headquarters at Lloyd House in Birmingham. Officers are not revealing details of the car’s owners as they are under investigation.

The racket has been operating from the centre of Birmingham and has links across the country, police said today. The vehicles have been recovered under Proceeds of Crime legislation, which allows officers to seize cash and assets which they believe to have been bought with “dirty money”.

New figures released today showed that officers have forfeited or confiscated more than £15million worth of assets in the West Midlands over the past 18 months.

They have also seized more than £5m in cash, while more than £30m is restrained through the courts as its sources are investigated by police.

Det Insp Andy Bannister, who specialises in recovering criminal’s ill-gotten gains, said: “The purpose of today is simple. We want to let the public know that we are working really hard to make sure that crime does not pay.

“These cars are restrained whilst we carry out our investigations into what we believe has been criminal behaviour. We are committed to using the Proceeds of Crime Act to full capacity, seizing cash and goods that we believe have been funded from illegal operations.

“This in turn disrupts and helps to dismantle serious and organised crime networks, as well as showing honest citizens that criminals are not enjoying their ill-gotten gains.”

Mr Bannister said some of the profits recovered through the courts was ploughed back into the fight against crime. Money also goes to victims who have been directly affected. He added: “We have listened to those in the community who are telling us that someone is leading a criminal lifestyle. We will pursue those who are leading a criminal lifestyle – we are taking the cash out of crime.”

The three men held in connection with the operation have been charged with fraud and deception.