More than £35,000 in cash has been seized by police who suspect it was obtained illegally - even though they cannot prove it.

The cash was found stuffed into a bag when officers raided a home in Luton in July last year.

And on Friday, magistrates ruled it should be ploughed into police and government coffers, despite no-one being convicted.

Financial investigator Det Con Dennis Simpson, of the Bedford-based economic crime unit, said: 'In the absence of any other credible explanation, it is more likely than not to be derived from criminal activity and I have asked the cash to be forfeited as it is recoverable property.

'I am delighted the court agreed, since their decision sends out a clear message that even where someone is not charged, we can still disrupt criminal activity.'

When the occupant at the address - an unemployed 19-year-old - was interviewed, he refused to comment on where the money came from.

Police then applied to magistrates to keep hold of the cash, but a few days later a man in his 40s came forward saying the money belonged to him.

He claimed the money was the proceeds of house and caravan sales, but police said although they went through his bank accounts, they could find no evidence to bear this out.

Half the money, which was reclaimed under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, will go to Beds Police, while the rest will go to the government.

A statement from police this week said anyone who suspects someone of living off the proceeds of crime can contact police, in confidence, on 01234 841212, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.

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