Almost £5million paid back by criminals following Kent Police action

Nearly £5million in cash and assets linked to crime has been recovered by Kent Police’s financial investigators.

Over the last financial year, specialist staff were able to identify and take money from convicted and suspected criminals including drug dealers, fraudsters and brothel owners by using legislation under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Confiscations and forfeitures

During 2025/26 a total of 61 confiscation orders were made, which saw assets totalling £1,820,667 seized from Kent criminals following indepth investigations into their finances to ascertain how much money they had made through breaking the law. The orders ensured that following time spent in prison, convicted criminals did not benefit from their illegal activities.

Additionally, 80 civil cases were successful and saw a total of £3,104,391 forfeited or recovered, believed to be linked to crime. It included cash, assets and bank accounts which were frozen.

Over the past three years, £14,656,545 of cash and assets have been taken from criminals living or committing crime in Kent.

The largest individual order secured in the last year saw £955,703 recovered from a Southfleet company. This money was returned to a victim in Canada who was subject to an investment fraud by suspects identified in Kent and further afield.

Getting results

Other results have included:
- £331,445 confiscated in October 2025 from four members of the same family for immigration offences after their car containing immigrants was stopped in Dover.
- A secret compartment filled with cocaine in a car stopped in Dymchurch led to a £31,144 being confiscated from the drug dealer in February 2026.
- £290,248 was a bank account balance forfeited belonging to a suspected fraudulent company.
- £219,000 in cash was forfeited from a man trying to take the cash out of the UK in a carrier bag at the Channel Tunnel.
- £248,810 confiscated from an east Kent drug dealer.
- £223,000 was forfeited from a suspected money launderer from Medway.
- £111,460 in cash was forfeited after it was believed to be laundered money for an organised crime group from London.
- £105,891 in cash was forfeited from a suspected drug dealer from Faversham.

Detective Inspector David Godfrey said:

‘This is a significant result and is testament to the determination of our financial investigators who will dig deep when it comes to finding money and assets built up by fraudsters, thieves, and others while they were breaking the law.‘The Proceeds of Crime Act is an important piece of legislation because it supports our officers as they seek to deter criminals from restarting illegal enterprises. Without the funds, organised criminality can be harder to return to.‘It also means they are hampered from returning to a life of luxury funded from taking advantage of often vulnerable victims.‘It can also be used in cases where we have been unable to prove a person was responsible for a criminal act, but the courts agree with us that the money or property was gained unlawfully and can be forfeited.‘We will use all tools available to us to continue the relentless pursuit of criminals and stop offenders from causing harm to our public and communities.’

Police found drugs in a car which led to £31,000 being confiscated from a drug dealer in east Kent.