A COURT has given Cumbria Police permission to keep £65,000 in cash found in a car which police stopped on a road near Penrith.

Neither the car’s driver nor his passenger, who were both found to be in the country illegally, claimed to have any knowledge of the money when it was found, lawyer Gemma Rogerson told Carlisle’s Rickergate court.

The court heard that police found the money when they stopped the car on November 18 last year. A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of the case, which was split into three separate bundles.

With neither man having access to any legitimate source of income, the court heard, police suspected the money has either the proceeds of crime or intended for use in future offending.

For this reason, police believed that the money could be forfeited under Proceeds of Crime legislation. Magistrates approved the police application. The two men who were in the car are currently thought to be living in an immigration centre in Birmingham. Neither was represented at the hearing.

Money seized under Proceeds of Crime legislatoin is split between the various agencies involved in fighting against crime.