ALMOST £15,000 in cash recovered during fraud and firearms investigations in Bradford has been forfeited to the courts.

Last week Leeds magistrates ruled that £14,460 recovered by the district’s Proceeds of Crime Team was probably intended for criminal purposes and ordered that the cash be forfeited under Proceeds of Crime legislation.

Almost £10,000 was seized by police during an investigation into violent disorder in Great Horton in October last year, for which five men were jailed for a total of 57 years in June. The cash was thought to be linked to the supply of drugs.

The remainder of the cash was recovered by officers investigating a fraud in Shipley in November 2015, for which three people were arrested and later released without charge.

After a decision was made to take no further action in respect of the monies seized, it was re-seized by the Bradford District Proceeds of Crime Team, who then used their powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act to gain the forfeiture orders at court.

So far this financial year the team has seized a total of £159,000.

When assets are confiscated the money is split between the government, the police, the Crown Prosecution Service and the courts.

The money returning to West Yorkshire Police is split evenly between the Police and Crime Commissioner for the Safer Communities Fund, and the Chief Constable for operational policing.

Mark Burns-Williamson, West Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner said:

“This is fantastic work by West Yorkshire Police and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for all their efforts in ensuring crime doesn’t pay.

“A good amount of this money will now be put into my Safer Communities Fund which provides grants to community projects across West Yorkshire working to keep people safe and feeling safe. So far over 380 projects have received a share of nearly £1.7m in funding.

The next round of the Safer Communities Fund opens for applications in September.