A 47-year-old man has been ordered to repay more than a quarter-of-a-million pounds after a court ruled it was recoverable under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Kevin Burrage, of Shoeburyness, Essex, appeared before Central Kent Magistrates' Court in Sittingbourne on Tuesday 25 January and was ordered to forfeit £259,910.

Unlawful trading

The money was found secreted in the bottom of a wardrobe during a police search of a house in Gravesend in October 2006. Kent Police believe the address was known to Burrage.

The magistrates believed the cash had been obtained through the unlawful trading of an alcohol wholesale warehouse company. The director/owner of the company was shown to be a single mother who was at the time a heroin addict and was paid £1,000 to go to France and sign documents for the company.

Making sure crime doesn't pay

Detective Inspector Mark Fairhurst from Kent Police's Serious Economic Crime Unit, which mounted the investigation, said: 'This was a particularly complicated and testing case and I am pleased that the money has been removed from criminal circulation.

'The Proceeds Of Crime Act is a powerful piece of legislation and Kent Police has again used it to send out the message that crime does not pay.'

The forfeited amount will be used by Kent Police and the Home Office to support further policing initiatives.

Posted on: 27 January 2010