A man attempting to leave the UK with more than €100,000 in cash has now had the money taken off him.

Kent Police seized the money from Dutch national Abdulkadim Ali, 39, after his vehicle was stopped at the Eurotunnel terminal in Folkestone.

Officers found almost €140,000 - which equates to around £127,000 - during their search in December 2017.

Mr Ali, from Alphen aan den Rijn in the Netherlands, claimed he had entered the UK two days previously for business purposes, and that during his visit he received an €80,000 loan from a friend.

He said the rest of the cash was his and had been earned legitimately.

But financial investigators disagreed, instead believing it had been intended for criminal use.

It was removed from him and now, 18 months later it has been forfeited following a successful court application from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate

A hearing was held at Folkestone Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, which Mr Ali attended to contest the forfeiture application.

But magistrates found in favour of the police and agreed that the €139,023 seized had been intended for criminal means.

Pending any appeal from Mr Ali - who was not charged with any offences - the money will not be returned to him and will be reinvested into policing.

Det Chf Insp Patrick Milford said: "While Mr Ali was not charged with any offences in relation to this case, we did not believe his explanation as to why he was attempting to leave the UK with such a large amount of cash.

"Based on the evidence available, it is our strong belief that the money had been earned through criminal means.

"This case is yet another example of where the Proceeds of Crime Act has been used to help us prevent people being able to benefit financially from money that was not earned via legitimate means."

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