STACKS of cash, cars and an Aladdin’s cave of Star Wars merchandise are among the £109 million worth of loot confiscated from criminals by West Yorkshire Police in the past decade.

Police financial investigators and the Regional Asset Recovery Team have used the Proceeds of Crime Act to make sure crime does not pay by recovering criminals’ ill-gotten gains.

Major investigations from the past decade included the seizure of £860,000 in cash from a single house in the Bradford district.

And one of the more unusual cases involved a couple’s collection of sci-fi merchandise.

They had been ordered to pay back more than £330,000 and to raise the money, their hoard of sci-fi gear, including Star Wars action figures and memorabilia from Doctor Who and Thunderbirds, was auctioned off.

Other investigations by West Yorkshire Police have resulted in the seizure of various high-value items including watches, jewellery, motor vehicles, antiques and even a book worth £2,000.

Detective Superintendent Nigel Costello, of West Yorkshire Police, said: “Since its introduction, the Proceeds of Crime Act has become a key weapon in our fight to tackle and disrupt organised crime.

“Over the past decade the force has invested in financial investigators who have worked tirelessly to take away the gains of organised criminals.

“When people are caught and convicted this is not the end of the process, assets are traced and confiscated and these monies can be put to good use to benefit others, including victims.”

Mark Burns-Williamson, Police and Crime Commissioner for West Yorkshire, said: “My Safer Communities Fund, which gives grants to not-for-profit organisations working to keep West Yorkshire safe, is financed by money recovered from criminals.

“The fund launched in 2014 and has so far given over £2 million back to our communities to over 460 different projects, many of which I have had the pleasure of visiting and seeing the positive and often amazing impact of the work being carried out.”