Police and customs officers have taken more than £1 million (€1.48 million) from criminals in Northern Ireland in the first financial quarter of the year, the Northern Ireland Office has revealed.
Paul Goggins, Minister of State for Criminal Justice and chairman of the Organised Crime Task Force, said the agencies' performance up to the end of June puts them well on target to exceed last year's total.
It also underlines the task force's commitment to strip away the assets of those who profit through criminal activity, he said. "Law enforcement agencies are continuing to make good progress in disrupting, restraining and taking away criminal assets across Northern Ireland," he added.
"By the end of June, law enforcement agencies and the Asset Recovery Agency obtained orders to the value of over £1 million, which puts them well on target to exceed last year's total value of such orders of £2.2 million."
He said the police and customs officers have already seized 50 per cent more cash than they had at the same time last year. The Assets Recovery Agency - the North's equivalent of the CAB - had secured more than £670,000 in recovery orders and settlements, which is more than had been obtained in the whole of 2006. The courts had also frozen assets worth more than £2.5 million, he said.