Earlier this year, two sisters - at the centre of a huge drug trafficking operation - were ordered to pay back hundreds of thousands of pounds of their ill-gotten gains.
Shazia Din, 44, led a Bury-based crime group, together with her older sister Abia Din, 47, a court was told. A beauty business - The Beauty Booth - was set up on the Chesham Industrial Estate in Bury as a front to launder dirty money made from the vast profits, police said.
In August, at a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing at Manchester Crown Court, the judge confiscated a total of £345,031.40 from seven individuals involved in the drugs ring, including the sisters.
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Shazia Din, who used to run the criminal empire out of her shop, had £259,079.17 confiscated, while her sister and partner in crime, Abia Din, lost the sum of £49,478.45. Other Greater Manchester participants also had substantial wealth confiscated.
Now, some of that cash will be used to help community projects across Greater Manchester.
The cash seized from the Dins is part of the £3.3m of dirty cash seized by GMP this tax year - ie since April 2022 - with confiscation of ill-gotten gains being the final part of GMP's pursuit of criminals.
Half of that money goes to the Home Office, but GMP gets just under 50 per cent back to fund policing initiatives and community projects, like sporting activities and schemes to divert young people away from crime.
And, if you're involved with a community group, you can apply for some of this money.
One project helped by the confiscated cash is the Fitton Hill Bulldogs Community Sport Centre in Oldham. The £70,000 they received paid for an additional disability hoist within the clubhouse building, pitch drainage of a full size rugby pitch and a full size football pitch and will support pavilion refurbishments and strengthen external security provisions at the site.
Meanwhile, £50,000 has gone to the GetAwayNGetSafe (GANGS) project, which delivers early intervention, aimed at young people, to challenge attitudes towards gang culture, knife carrying and social responsibility. Already implemented in 20 south Manchester schools, funding is being used to roll it out to other areas.
This week alone at Tameside Magistrates, £333,000 was forfeited from eleven separate seizures of cash.
It included £225,000 found when police investigating money laundering stopped a car in Belvedere Road, just off the A6 roundabout at Pendleton, Salford, and found bundles of bank notes stuffed into cardboard boxes.
Two men were arrested after the swoop on October 6th. GMP patrols had stopped the vehicle as part of Operation Falcon - a region-wide pursuit of those suspected of being involved in the transporting and hiding of dirty money.
Also in October, police found £50,000 in cash hidden in a car after stopping it on on the northbound carriageway of the ring road, near the junction with the M602 in Salford.
The same month, police seized more than £50,000 of suspected 'dirty money' when patrols stopped a car in Cheetham Hill.
Previous seizures have included one in September 2022, when £8,000 worth of cocaine and £29,828 in cash was found in a search in Salford.
Meanwhile in August, a police dog led officers to £58,650 in cash, secreted in a shoe box wrapped in plastic, after a vehicle was stopped in Rochdale.
Also in August, police found £55,140 in cash along with a large quantity of Class A drugs, steroids and human growth hormone after attending an incident in Wigan.
And, in March, the Economic Crime Unit executed a warrant in Norden, Rochdale, in connection with money laundering and the supply of class A drugs and £26,060 was found in cash at the address. The occupant was arrested for conspiracy to supply Class A and has since pleaded guilty.
GMP's Asset Detention and Recovery Unit deal with the seizure of all cash and listed assets like high-value watches, such as Rolexes, jewellery, gold bars, and bonds, by conducting civil investigations that arise following these seizures, with a view to forfeiting the assets at court. They can also seize the contents of bank accounts.
The team work to prove through a civil investigation that the money seized comes from or is intended to be used for crime, preventing it from being returned to criminals and fuelling organised crime and violence.
Organisations can apply for a maximum of £20,000 to fund 12 months’ activities. The activities must support GMP’s objectives to fight, prevent and reduce crime; keep people safe; and care for victims.
For more information about ARIS funding applications visit here.
Detective Sergeant Sarah Langley, of GMP’s Asset Detention and Recovery Unit, said of this year's seizures: “Although we're very pleased with this result, the fight to strip criminals of their finances doesn’t stop here. My team will continue to work diligently behind the scenes to remove criminal proceeds from the hands of those who seek to profit from criminality.
"Using all powers available to us through the Proceeds of Crime Act allows us to successfully disrupt criminal networks by targeting them where it hurts the most – their pockets”
Detective Superintendent Joseph Harrop of the Economic and Cyber Crime Unit, who is the Force Lead for Asset Recovery said: “The money can come from anywhere - a traffic stop, or officers executing a pre-planned drugs warrant. Officers then seize it under the Proceeds of Crime Act and we present to court why we think this money has been derived from crime or going to be used in crime.
"Then civil investigation begins to prove that money is criminal. There may be a contested hearing - a trial - but we present all the evidence why it is criminal.
"This latest milestone demonstrates how, in line with our public promises, we will seize more assets from criminals. We continue to focus on forfeiting criminal assets to utilise their finances for a much better purpose.
“I would like to reassure the public that any information reported to us is dealt with in complete confidence and will be followed up meticulously. I would like to thank the public for their ongoing support in sharing information with our unit which helps us successfully disrupt criminal networks.
"Last year was our record year. From April 1st 2021 to the end of March 2022, the total value of all items confiscated was £13.7m - which included £6m in cash - which, compared to the previous year, was an increase of 326 per cent for cash.
"We want to disrupt and dismantle organised crime. As well as doing that we are helping good causes - policing initiatives, charities. If people in the community have causes which they think would benefit the community they just need to speak to one of our local officers, that can be a beat officer or one of the PCSOs. They will help them fill a form in, with which they can bid for up to £20,000."
Anyone with concerns or information about suspicious financial activity should report to police online, if able, at www.gmp.police.uk or via 101. Always call 999 in an emergency.
Details can be passed anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
To keep up to date with the team’s successes and for fraud prevention advice follow the Economic Crime Unit’s dedicated Twitter account -@gmpfraud.
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