Crime won’t pay
Published: February 22, 2006
BACKROOM teams of financial wizards are hitting criminals in West Yorkshire where it really hurts – in their pockets.
West Yorkshire Police’s divisional financial investigators are using new powers to recover ill-gotten gains from villains.
And the YEP can reveal that since April last year, they have provided evidence at court which has led to confiscation orders worth £3.3million being imposed on a total of 120 criminals.
It means the criminals will lose their homes, cars, cash and other valuables.
In the latest case, former Halifax rugby player Eddison Riddlesden, now 38, was jailed for nine months for possessing half a kilo of cannabis with intent to supply. He was cleared of a money laundering charge.
The judge also ruled that Riddlesden, whose career highlight was when he turned out for Halifax in the 1986 Premiership Final against Warrington, had benefited to the tune of £170,000 from his “general criminal conduct”.
Traced
The judge, sitting in Leeds, made a confiscation order which means Riddlesden has to pay £89,571.71p – the amount of recoverable assets which financial investigators could trace.
He was given six months to pay up, or serve a further 18 months in jail, in default. And, even if he serves the additional jail term, Riddlesden will still owe the money.
The court heard that when officers raided his home in Meanwood Road, Leeds they recovered six stingers – spiked, car disabling devices – along with £15,000 cash in his Ali Baba laundry basket.
The amount covered by the confiscation order imposed on Riddlesden includes the £15,000 seized at his home; £7,000 which is the value of his Saab convertible car he will now have to sell, and almost £67,000 equity in his home, which he will be forced to sell.
That still leaves him almost £80,000 short of the £170,000 he was said to have gained from crime. And that debt remains with him for life.
The YEP was told that should Riddlesden, or any other criminal made the subject of a similar order, come into money in the future, he can be taken back to court and forced to hand over more money.
“If he won on the Lottery or the pools or even got a highly paid job, we will still go back to court to make up the shortfall, or part of it”, said a spokesman.
Two-strong teams of financial investigators are now based at each of the 10 divisions in West Yorkshire, along with a six-strong team at headquarters.
Acting Det Chief Insp Steve Waite, head of the West Yorkshire police economic crime unit, said the cases now coming to court, showed the new legislation had real teeth.
He said: “It hits villains more than a prison sentence and shows that crime doesn’t pay.”
He said that the divisional financial investigators targeted the middle and lower classes of criminals, while Regional Asset Recovery Teams – a separate unit – targeted top flight villains.
He said the divisional teams were civilians staff made up of ex-police officers, people from the retail management in the financial market and Local Authority audit departments, and former members of the Armed Forces.
Acting Det Chief Insp Waite added: “In some cases, if we can’t prove people’s involvement in drug dealing, for instance, we can look at them from their criminal lifestyle and take them to court under these new powers. The new legislation is very strong – and is beginning to bite.”
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