Three kilos of gold jewellery seized from man at Gatwick Airport
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The man, wh had travelled from Dubai, was stopped with plastic bags full of gold necklaces, cufflinks and bracelets.
The 50-year-old man initially claimed the jewellery was for “guests to wear at a wedding”, before then trying to understate its value and weight.
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Hide AdBut officers from the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit believed the gold was linked to crime and confiscated it under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
And at Horsham Magistrates court this month they got an order to keep it after applying for a forfeiture order after ‘inconsistencies’ in the man’s account.
Senior Financial Investigator David Chave at the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit said: “Recent amendments to legislation allows for the seizure and subsequent forfeiture of certain items, including precious metals, where we can satisfy the court they may derive from criminality or are intended for use in crime.
“This allows us to remove the benefit from crime and disrupts criminals, affecting their ability to function as effectively, and is an important tool for law enforcement in the fight against organised crime.”
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Hide AdInvestigator Mr Chave said: “The forfeiture was a result of our partnership working with Border Force and the dedicated work from our team, who worked diligently to investigate the provenance of these items.
“This has led to the court ordering the forfeiture of this gold, removing it from criminal hands and, demonstrates our determination to disrupt criminality through the means available to us.”