Insurance stop check leads to seizure of £14k found in car

Dyfed-Powys Police have seized £14,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) following a routine stop check carried out by officers.

Officers carried out the stop check in January near Pembroke Dock on a vehicle they suspected was being driven without insurance.

The driver, Steven Davies and his passenger, Craig Williams, both from Cardiff, stated they had “come down for a spin to get away from Cardiff.”

Police say that when questioned Davies became quite nervous and started shaking, which led the officers to search the vehicle under Section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act.

PC Rob Garland, who made the stop, said: “In the footwell of the front passenger seat was a sat nav box wrapped in silver gaffer tape.

“Once we managed to prize the box open, we could see that it was stuffed with bundles of notes.”

Both men were arrested and the money seized under the POCA.

Evidence
On Friday, 26^th November, at Llanelli Magistrates Court an application was made for the permanent forfeiture of the seized cash, which totalled £14,070.

PC Garland added: “The courts agreed that the occupants’ accounts were not credible and that they could not account for and nor evidence being in possession of such a sum of money, therefore the court authorised the forfeiture of the money.

“I hope that as a force we can apply for some of this money that can be used to help victims of crime in our force area and to help safeguard the vulnerable.”

PC Garland praised the force’s Economic Crime Team, which helped ensure there was sufficient evidence to prove the money was not legally obtained.

Superintendent Anthony Evans said: “This is an excellent example of our officers targeting organised criminals and depriving them of their criminally gained assets.

“We are determined to proactively catch those that target our communities for criminal gain.

“We cannot do this alone and urge everyone to report, anonymously if required, those that commit crime in our communities via 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.”