Merseyside Police has secured over £160,000 of criminal assets at court this week.

On Tuesday 20 February a forfeiture hearing at Liverpool City Magistrates ruled on a number of cases involving assets seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

A total of £166,067 of criminal assets was secured by Merseyside Police.

In one of the cases heard and an account freezing order was emplaced on a suspected sex trafficker in Litherland, Sefton which saw £13,621 recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Another huge sum of £74,389 was seized and later forfeited from a suspected drug dealer and money launderer from Crosby, Sefton.

A confiscation order of £42,468 was also secured by our investigators against a convicted thief from Roby in Knowsley.

Speaking after the results Detective Chief Inspector Mike Dalton said: “This was an excellent outcome for our Financial Investigators who through meticulous investigations have seized a huge amount of cash that could have been used to fund organised crime in Merseyside and the devastating affect they have on the community.

“I would like to thank the Investigators involved for their work in the securing of such significant assets at court.

“Merseyside Police pro-actively investigates serious organised crime including the ill-gotten gains of criminals and is relentless in its pursuit of offenders.

“The proceeds of such crimes recovered at Court will be of great benefit when invested back into Community initiatives to help prevent crime and protect the most vulnerable.”

If you have any information about money laundering or cash being stored in your community please contact police @MerPolCC, or call 101. Alternatively, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via their online form at: Give information anonymously | Crimestoppers (crimestoppers-uk.org).