GWENT Police is set to receive a £12,000 boost from millions of pounds seized from criminals.

The £4.4 million is being shared between forces across the UK, and Gwent will take £12,936.63 of it.

Vernon Coaker, the Home Office Minister for Crime Reduction, said constabularies across England and Wales are to receive the money from assets seized between July and September last year.

The scheme allows police and recovery agencies to retain half of all cash they seize from criminals.

Mr Coaker said: "This is a double-win for policing. Seizing money from criminals takes the profit out of crime and a share of it goes straight back to the police force that confiscated it to be spent on local crime fighting priorities."