GWENT POLICE recovered hundreds of thousands of pounds in criminal cash and assets last year, new figures reveal.

They collected proceeds of crime worth £382,000 in 2018-19, according to the latest Home Office data, which includes dirty money, goods and property.

Of this, £369,000 – 97 per cent – came from confiscation orders, which take place following a criminal conviction.

The remainder came from powers to seize cash in civil proceedings.

Although this was far lower than when records began in 2013-14, when officers recovered £856,000, Detective Inspector Sam Elliot, who leads on the Financial Crime Team in Gwent, said a series of "large-scale" cases concluded in this period accounted for the disparity.

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“Confiscation Orders are not always utilised by the courts when an acquisitive offence has been committed and a defendant convicted," he said.

“There are other orders available that will remove assets from them and compensate the relevant victims.

“Gwent Police will have spent time investigating these cases, but these will not be recorded for the purposes of statistics such as these.”

He added: “We prioritise crimes of the highest threat risk and harm and the considerable amounts that we seize are linked to the assets of the most serious and organised crime in our communities in Gwent.

“Larger more complex enquiries often take a considerable amount of time to come to fruition with one such enquiry starting in 2014 and the confiscation order was not made until 2019.”

Just under £217 million was collected by police forces, councils and government agencies across England, Wales and Northern Ireland using powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act – up 21 per cent over the five-year period.

Dirty cash forfeited in civil proceedings accounted for a record £51 million, with a further £166 million confiscated following criminal convictions.

Since 2013, they have taken more than £1 billion out of criminals' hands.

Security minister Brandon Lewis credited the government with "having a real impact" on stripping crooks of their "ill-gotten gains".

He said: "This money is being ploughed back into law enforcement work and compensating victims. Last year, victims were paid £36 million – which was a 27 per cent increase on 2013-14.

"The new National Economic Crime Centre is harnessing intelligence and capabilities across the public and private sectors to bring people to justice.

"And our asset recovery action plan makes plain our ambition to improve these figures further and claw back even more dirty money."

Tougher anti-corruption measures came into force last year to stem the tide of laundered cash flooding the UK.

They include Unexplained Wealth Orders, demanding a person or company explain where their money came from, and powers to freeze funds.

To date, 15 such orders have been granted for property with a total value estimated at just over £143 million.

In 2018-19, £110 million was frozen in over 670 bank and building society accounts.

A National Police Chiefs' Council spokesman said: "Police forces prioritise crimes of the highest threat, risk and harm, and we have been using our powers to increase our seizure of the assets of serious criminals."