Hillingdon police confiscated more money from criminals than any other London borough between September and January.

The team, which seized £188,000, will now receive a £20,000 windfall which will be spent on using additional covert police cars.

The seizures all took place under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) and made following the arrests of 28 people in total, 26 of which were on suspicion of drug related offences.

The majority of these investigations are currently ongoing with those arrested awaiting court proceedings.

In one case, nearly £24,000 was surrendered to police after a man was convicted of possessing Class A drugs and jailed for four years.

In another matter, around £80,000 was seized from the home addresses of an unemployed man following the execution of a drugs search warrant which led to the significant seizure of class A drugs.

All of the arrests were the result of local intelligence, monitoring prolific offenders, and executing search warrants where there was an exceptional indication that finances had culminated from criminal activity.

Hillingdon Borough Commander Nick Downing said: “This success is ultimately down to sheer determination and drive from our policing team to seek offenders, bring them to justice and strip them of their criminal cash.

"Our community deserves the highest level of policing and this cash award will go far in delivering this commitment by extending our vehicle resources - in this case additional covert cars.

“For those who are intent on committing crimes for financial gain, the message is clear. We will make every effort to find you, seize your criminal assets, and bring you to justice.

"For us, this is merely the beginning of a long-term strategy to build on our success and ensure that our entire community benefit from additional funds.”

Money seized from POCA is shared between the Met Police force and Home Office.