A cocaine courier caught on the M6 with a high purity drug stash and £22,000 cash has been ordered to formally forfeit the money as police continue their campaign to claw back criminals’ ill-gotten gains.
Cumbria police officers have seized more than £1.7 million in suspected criminal cash from motorway motorists since April, it was confirmed.
And at Carlisle Crown Court, a judge has rubber-stamped a confiscation order sought against 31-year-old Christopher McLaughlan, of Brewery Street, Dumfries.
When stopped by patrol officers on the M6 close to Tebay, on December 14 last year, McLaughlan was found to have high purity cocaine stashed in his vehicle, along with £22,420.
McLaughlan claimed he had that cash because he intended to buy a camper van. But he provided the officers with vague and unconvincing accounts of his movements in the hours before he was pulled over.
McLaughlan admitted possessing the class A drug with intent to supply, as well as possessing criminal property — namely the £22,420 in cash. He further admitted illegal possession of a lock knife found in the vehicle.
It transpired he’d agreed to act as a courier amid financial pressure because of his own heavy drugs use.
In May he was jailed for a total of 37 months by a judge. And in the background, police financial investigators sifted through McLaughlan’s finances in a bid to take back money made from illegal activity.
Prosecutor Brendan Burke said the agreed amount from which McLaughlan had unlawfully benefited was £33,877.05. His available assets were calculated at £22,420 — the money found in his vehicle, which was already in police possession.
Judge Michael Fanning ruled that the money, technically, should be surrendered within three months.
*Cumbria police have seized in the region of £1.709million in suspected criminal cash from motorists using the M6 since April. Some £360,000 cash and drugs potentially worth £230,000 were recovered by officers in the space of just three days last month.
In such cases, police financial investigators apply to magistrates for detention of the cash in order to improve whether it has links to crime. This work forms part of Operation Alliance — Cumbria police’s ongoing response to protect the county against serious and organised crime.
PC Ryan Smith said: “This is the latest such result which continues to demonstrate that we are not prepared to stop at conviction, when it comes to criminals who have clearly profited from the illegal enterprises.
“Significant amounts of money have been secured from such hearings and we will continue to investigate and pursue those who think they can hang on to their illegally obtained cash.”
