Kent's underworld bosses and petty criminals have been forced to sacrifice a total of £46 million in lavish goods such as Bentleys, Rolex watches and a Harley-Davidson motorbike.

Since the Proceeds of Crime Act came into force 10 years ago, the law has been used to seize the assets of convicted criminals across the county.

The grand total obtained by Kent Police from court orders is a staggering £46,083,559.89.

The act gives police forces the power to seize cash and recover assets such as cars and houses that have been funded through crime.

In the last decade the Kent and Essex Serious Economic Crime Unit has seized a range of luxury goods... and even confiscated homes.

SECU Detective Inspector Mark Fairhurst said: “We use the legislation to disrupt organised crime and to show both offenders and the public that crime does not pay.

“In the early years the act was specifically used to target organised crime in Kent.

"Now POCA is recognised as a valuable policing tactic for investigating all crime, from burglary to high scale money laundering."

In one case, former business consultant Jean-Pierre Bestel was ordered to pay £9.4 million last year after he was convicted of mortgage fraud.

The confiscation order, made by Maidstone Crown Court, was the largest achieved by Kent Police under POCA.

Kent Police’s biggest cash forfeiture came in 2009 when police discovered £1.4 million concealed in a van as it passed through the Port of Dover.

The Belgian driver was convicted of money laundering charges and in 2010 Folkestone Magistrates Court made an order for the cash to be seized.

In April this year Maidstone Crown Court made a confiscation order against Paul Fentiman and Gary Webb following the discovery of a cannabis factory at a fruit farm in Rolvenden in October 2010.

Both men were convicted of cannabis cultivation and a confiscation order of £111,185.79 was made against Fentiman and £4,133.34 against Webb.

One of the force’s most recent orders - for £75,810 - was granted by Channel Magistrates’ Court on 25 April 2013.

The order was made against Cumbrian kebab shop owner Yucel Denli, his wife Fatma Isik, his uncle Hasan Denli and Hasan’s wife Elif Denli.

The two couples were stopped by Kent Police at Dover’s Eastern Docks in May 2012. A search of their BMW revealed several bundles of hidden cash totalling £70,000.

All four were arrested, but Yucel and Fatma claimed the cash had been given to them for their wedding two years earlier.

After a magistrates' hearing an order to forfeit the entire amount seized.

Det Insp Fairhurst said: “The general presumption is that if a criminal is convicted of a series of crimes the criminal has to prove that everything they own has been obtained legitimately.

"If they can’t prove that the court can decide it has been obtained through crime.

“For example a drug dealer may only be convicted for possession of £5,000 worth of cannabis with intent to supply but if we can show that he’s sitting on assets of £500,000 that he can’t account for we can apply for a confiscation order for the lot.”

Under the Home Office’s Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme Kent Police gets a share of money removed from the county’s criminals for use in the fight against crime.

It has reinvested more than £5.6 million in policing from this source since 2004.