Two men from Holland have forfeited £10,000 in cash after being stopped at the Eurotunnel terminal in Folkestone.

Franklin Bento, 37, and Irfan Butt, 33, both from Almere in the Netherlands, had bundles of cash totalling £5,000 each in their luggage when they tried to leave the country on Wednesday, May 16, 2018.

They claimed the money was to buy products for a greengrocery they were planning to set up in Amsterdam.

However, none of the money was spent and neither man could provide any documentation to support that claim, and they were forced to forfeit the money following a court hearing on Monday.

At a hearing at Folkestone Magistrates' Court, financial investigators from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate successfully applied for the cash to be forfeited using legislation under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Neither Mr Bento nor Mr Butt attended to contest the decision.

Detective Inspector Annie Clayton said: ‘While neither man was arrested or charged with any criminal offence, they were unable to provide any verifiable evidence that they had a legitimate reason for how they came to be in possession of so much money.

"Our financial investigators regularly use the Proceeds of Crime Act to ensure people are not allowed to benefit from illegal activity and to help reinforce the important message that crime does not pay."

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