Police have seized £360,000 from criminals in the Airedale and North Bradford division in six months.

The seizures by Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) investigators included one lump sum of £102,486.54 taken from a convicted drug dealer at the end of last month.

The team is hoping to push the figure to more than £500,000 with ongoing investigations, including attemp-ts to recover more than £237,000 from a convicted Bradford drug dealer and other operations to recover the proceeds of money laundering and fraud in Keighley, valued at more than £100,000.

The biggest single confiscation so far remains the seizure of £150,000 from garage boss Mohammed Rashid, pictured, of Rylstone Street, Keighley, who was jailed in 2008 for his part in a complex fraud scam in which fake accidents were staged for money.

Det Sgt Dave Marston, who heads the POCA unit at Airedale and North Bradford police, said: “We continue to get busier as more of our cases come to court and we have a number of cases with six-figure confiscations on our books for the coming months. Our job as a team is to ensure crime doesn’t pay. People profiting from a crime as destructive as drug dealing is an issue which can anger communities the most.”

Anyone who thinks their neighbours might be benefiting from the proceeds of crime can contact the Why Should They campaign on 0800 555111.