Police have been given time to investigate whether £13,000 seized from a driver travelling on the M6 in north Cumbria is linked to criminal activity.
Carlisle Magistrates’ Court heard today how officers stopped a grey BMW heading south at around 12.30pm last Thursday, near Southwaite.
A computer check showed no insurance being in place for the vehicle.
The 26-year-old Scottish-based driver told police a one-day policy was in force. But PCs opted to search the BMW after noting that the driver and his two passengers — all Albanian nationals — appeared nervous.
When a rear seat was lifted, 13 wrapped bundles of cash — estimated to be £13,000 in total — were found to be laid alongside each other in an apparent attempt to conceal it from anyone sat there.
The driver said he was heading to the Manchester area to buy a car having borrowed the cash from his uncle. But police contacted his uncle, who said he had not lent the driver that money, and later learned the driver had in fact travelled to Merseyside.
In view of those details, and other observations and enquiries, a police financial investigator told the court: “It is my strong belief this money is possibly from unlawful conduct and is actually criminal property.”
After hearing submissions, magistrates ordered the confiscation of the cash and granted the officer up to three months to determine whether it is linked to illegal activity.
