Police seize £1 million in cash during a drugs bust
Nov 12 2010 by Mark Cowan, Birmingham Mail
POLICE have seized a whopping £1 million in cash hidden in a house in Birmingham raided as part of a drugs bust.
The haul of £10 and £20 notes is the largest single seizure of money in the history of West Midlands Police.
The banknotes were found stuffed in a holdall that had been hidden in a loft of a semi-detached house in Stechford.
Details of the record-breaking seizure have only now come to light after magistrates ordered the cash to be forfeited because the owner could not prove it had been earned through legitimate means.
It will now be ploughed into community crime-fighting projects. Detectives said the money was seized as part of a continuing operation targeting a criminal network operating in the city which has led to a number of arrests.
Det Chief Insp Steven Reed said the seizure had dealt suspected drug dealers an expensive blow.
“This is the most significant seizure of cash in the history of the force,” he said.
