PoCA seizures raise £375,000 on eBay
Since its launch in October 2009, a total of £375,000 has been raised by Leicestershire Constabularys eBay shop selling property seized under Proceeds of Crime legislation.
Since its launch in October 2009, a total of £375,000 has been raised by Leicestershire Constabularys eBay shop selling property seized under Proceeds of Crime legislation.
The force said over 500 sales of legitimately purchased items of clothing, cars and jewellery, originally bought by criminals with dirty money, have been auctioned. The money raised has been paid to the Government who then divide it to pay for further policing of local economic crime and local community projects.
The Leicestershire Constabulary Economic Crime Unit (ECU) team coordinates the eBay shop window for the police forces economic crime enforcement activity codenamed Operation Bling. The team visits an independent valuation company which values and certifies the confiscated goods as genuine, and then deals with the customers who buy the confiscated goods from the eBay site. Making up the £375,000 eBay sales, were items seized from criminals using the Proceed of Crime Act (PoCA) 2002.
Sold so far on eBay are:
- a BMW X5 luxury 4×4 sold for £16,000;
- a BMW M3 sports car sold for £14,000;
- a Rolex Daytona watch18ct sold for £8,500;
- a Jacob & Co gold bracelet sold for £3,000;
- a pair of Bvlgari diamond earrings sold for £2,000.
The forces eBay shop has received overwhelming positive feedback rating 99.8 per cent with purchasers.
Detective Inspector Paul Wenlock, the lead officer at the ECU, said: One year on, it is clear that our simple online eBay strategy has proven very effective. Were taking the cash out of crime and putting it to work in community projects and local policing.
“We make it clear and our eBay customers understand that the goods we sell are legitimate, just bought with so-called dirty money. All our customers are aware of the origins of the goods and are happy to pay a fair price for them, this reflected in our extremely high level of eBay customer satisfaction.
Leicestershire Constabulary ECU is one of the highest performing units of its kind in the region; in 2009/2010 it reclaimed £3million of PoCA cash from criminals and is consulting with other forces looking to adopt similar online strategies.
Det Insp Wenlock said: Part of the success of the Leicestershire police eBay site is that is doubly satisfying to buy from us you buy your goods at reasonable prices knowing your purchase will make a contribution to society.
The forces eBay shop can be found at http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Leicester-Police-POCA-Property?_rdc=1