Oxfordshire: Man Ordered To Forfeit £30,000

21 November 2013, 12:02 | Updated: 21 November 2013, 12:09

A man from Oxfordshire has had to forfeit over £30,000 which was seized from his Yarnton home.

Gareth Dodd has been ordered to forfeit £30,090 after the Thames Valley Police Economic Crime Unit (ECU) secured a forfeiture order against him.

The 41 year old from Merton Way, Yarnton, was arrested on 8th December 2011, after a search warrant was carried out under the Misuse of Drugs Act at his home and cannabis, MDMA, an air rifle, and the £30,090 cash were seized. A successful application to detain the cash was granted at Banbury Magistrates’ Court shortly afterwards.

Mr Dodd was charged on 22nd March 2012 with two drug trafficking offences, possession of a firearm while prohibited, and possession of £80 in counterfeit notes. He appeared at Oxford Crown Court on 2nd August 2013, where three counts were discontinued and he was found not guilty of one offence of drug trafficking.

Cash seizure proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 continued at Banbury Magistrates Court and a forfeiture hearing was arranged for November, which Mr Dodd stated he was going to contest. During the investigation Mr Dodd did not provide any information to the ECU about the origin or legitimacy of the money.

Three days prior to the forfeiture hearing, Mr Dodd decided not to contest the case and on Monday 18th November the case was heard by Banbury Magistrates’, who were satisfied that the cash was derived from crime as Mr Dodd had not provided any evidence that the cash was obtained legitimately. An order was made to forfeit the sum of £30,090, including accrued interest since the cash was seized.

Claire Upton, Financial Investigator with the ECU, said: “This is an excellent example of how the Proceeds of Crime Act can be used to remove cash that has not been earned legitimately, even when someone has not been convicted of any offence. Cases such as these prove that crime doesn’t pay.”