Police net £500,000 crime assets

Mr Pickering will lose three of his homes

Property and goods worth more than £500,000 have been permanently confiscated from a Middlesbrough man who was cleared of drugs charges.

Andrew Pickering, 38, was acquitted of the charges in 2004, but his assets and bank accounts were frozen.

Cleveland Police and the Assets Recovery Agency then launched a civil case under the Proceeds of Crime Act to confiscate his assets permanently.

On Monday they won their case at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

The Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) persuaded the court that property held by Mr Pickering may have been acquired with drugs cash.

He will now lose three homes, a BMW M3 coupe, jewellery and cash.

Det Ch Supt Mark Braithwaite, head of crime for Cleveland Police, said: "Pickering carried out his activities under the guise of a respectable businessman.

Lap of luxury

"However, the court was satisfied that the wealth he amassed could only have been acquired through illegal means."

It is the force's first successful case brought under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

Det Ch Supt Braithwaite added: "The lifestyle Pickering led was typical of the type of person this campaign is aimed at.

"He drove high powered cars, furnished his home with expensive items and effectively lived in the lap of luxury in an affluent area.

"Yet his legal income did not support this lifestyle.

"This has been an excellent piece of work by Cleveland Police, working alongside colleagues from the Asset Recovery Agency and I am delighted with the outcome."