A court has seized £18,000 which was discovered in a random stop check.

Officers found the wad of notes in a vehicle they stopped in West Street, Harrietsham.

A £17,000 stash was confiscated and around £5,800 was taken from the four male occupants.

The men were arrested on suspicion of money laundering but were later released without charge.

Police returned £4,500 to two of the men but the group denied they knew who the £17,000 belonged to.

On Thursday, financial investigators made an application to Maidstone Magistrates’ Court to have the money, and the £1,320 seized from the other two men, forfeited.

None of the men contested the application.

Jackie Lowdon, financial investigator at Kent Police said: “£17,000 is a significant amount of cash to be carrying around, and none of the men who were in the car would account for the money, or provide any details of where the money had come from.

"When we suspect that money or assets have been obtained through being involved in crime, we will use the Proceeds of Crime Act to seize the money, to ensure that no one profits from criminal activity.”