West Mercia ECU takes £4.7 Million from Criminals in 2019/20

West Mercia Police Economic Crime Unit (ECU) is working hard to take the cash out of crime. Between 01 April 2019 and 31 March 2020 the ECU removed or detained over £4.7 million from criminals and returned over £0.9 million to victims of financial crime via compensation.   

The below graphic shows how the orders obtained by the ECU were broken down -

Total removed/detained from criminals = £4,788,634

Total back to victims of acquisitive crime = £931,291

Detective Inspector Emma Wright from West Mercia ECU said: “Nearly £2.3 million was detained from criminals via a Restraint Order, which secures assets held by a suspect, whilst the criminal investigation is ongoing, to prevent those assets being lost or hidden. Following conviction, the assets that are restrained can then be removed permanently from the criminal via a Confiscation Order. Over £1.3 million was removed from criminals via confiscation in 2019/20. Of that £1.3 million, over £0.9 million was returned to victims via Compensation Orders.

“In addition, assets linked solely to drugs supply, may be forfeited (upon conviction) under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and over £35,000 was removed in this way.

“The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 also provides the police with civil powers to seize and remove money that is believed to be the proceeds of criminal activity. The most common way this happens is via a cash detention, where police find a suspect in possession of more than £1,000 cash, which they believe is criminal property. This year over £0.75 million of cash was detained from suspects in this way. In these cases even if the suspect is not convicted of a criminal offence, if the ECU can show, on the balance of probabilities, that the cash is either derived from crime or intended for use in crime then it can be forfeited. Cash forfeitures totalled nearly £139,000 during this year.

“New powers have recently been introduced to the Proceeds of Crime Act that allows money in bank accounts to be frozen and forfeited, in a similar way to how cash may be seized from suspects. If a suspect has over £1,000 in a bank account that is suspected to be from crime or for use in crime, an Account Freezing Order can be sought to freeze the funds. If the ECU can show, on the balance of probabilities, that the money is criminal property then it may be forfeited from the suspect; again with no need for the suspect to be convicted for the suspected criminal activity. Account Freezing Orders are a powerful new tool to take allow police to remove money from criminals who are laundering cash their via bank accounts and the ECU have already obtained initial freezing orders for over £225,000 in the first year of their use.”

A case study (Confiscation order)

Usman Rafiq, aged 28 years, of 19, Hilltop Drive, Birmingham, was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment on 16th November 2018 at Worcester Crown Court for 2 counts of Conspiracy to Supply Class A Drugs.

Rafiq had a leading role in directing the buying and selling of Cocaine and Diamorphine on a commercial scale, as part of a county lines drug supply. The investigation into this particular group, known as “The Uzi line”, started as a result of police concerns regarding large scale drug supply in the Herefordshire and Worcestershire areas. “County Lines” drug supply is drug dealing on a large scale, involving the retention, by a group of dealers, of the contact details for people in a particular area who may buy drugs. The dealers retain these phone numbers, but use various different numbers themselves, from which to advertise the sale of drugs. They do this so that when a particular dealer is arrested, or a particular phone compromised, the dealing can carry on as normal; by using a new phone and inputting the same customer list.

Rafiq was deemed to have benefitted by £154,129.86 as a result of his drug supply and ordered to pay back an available amount of £24,934, when a Confiscation order was granted on 12^th March 2020 at Worcester Crown Court. He was given 3 months to pay, or he will face a further 14 months imprisonment.

Two of his co-conspirators in this drug supply, also had money forfeited under the Misuse of Drugs Act. Mohinoor Rashid, aged 23 years, of 56 Albert Road, Handsworth, Birmingham, was ordered to forfeit £376.54 on 16th November 2018.  Kane Payne, aged 20 years, of 37, Ivy House Road, Oldbury, was ordered to forfeit £320 on the same date.

Taking cash from criminals to fund the fight against crime

Where the assets that are removed from criminals are not returned to victims as compensation, the funds are paid to law enforcement.

Detective Inspector Emma Wright, explains, “Assets taken from criminals under the Proceeds of Crime Act are paid to the Home Office to fund the fight against crime, with a proportion being directly returned to West Mercia Police, to help us fund more financial investigations and remove even more money.

“Forfeitures under the Misuse of Drugs Act are paid directly to West Mercia Police and are used to assist in the fight against drugs, for example buying new equipment for our Serious and Organised Crime Teams who investigate organised crime gangs supplying drugs.

“Taking assets back from criminals is often the punishment that hits criminals the hardest, as it removes the financial gain from their crime, which is the main motivation to commit crime. New powers such as Account Freezing Orders, are allowing us to hit criminals who hide the proceeds of crime in bank accounts, even where it is not possible to convict them of the criminal offences linked to the money."

A Confiscation Order under the Proceeds of Crime Act, remains outstanding until the criminal has paid back the total amount they benefitted from their crime, otherwise known as the “benefit figure”. The amount a criminal must pay back immediately is known as the “available amount” and it reflects the assets the criminal has available to pay at that time. Sometimes the available amount is much lower than the benefit figure, however, if the criminal is found to have further assets in the future (even if they were earned legitimately) then the amount they must pay back can be increased. There is no limit to how many times the amount to be paid back can be raised, therefore, the process can be repeated until the total benefit figure is repaid.

Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion said: “As part of my commitment to deliver safer and more secure communities, I ensure that West Mercia Police has the resources it needs to tackle criminality, which includes the invaluable work of the Economic Crime Unit. This is a great result for victims, who have suffered from this crime, but also for the wider public who will ultimately benefit from the money seized going back into policing. These ill-gotten gains will be put towards projects that address crime and community safety across West Mercia.”

Detective Inspector Wright added, “Even if the defendant does not have sufficient assets to pay back the total amount they made from crime; this debt remains outstanding for life under a Confiscation Order, meaning that in the end they must pay back everything they received from committing crime. The police and partner agencies will relentlessly pursue this money and it should serve as a powerful deterrent to those thinking of becoming involved in serious crime.”

Issued by AG, Corporate Communications