Police have been permitted to keep £1.8million worth of gold seized from Manchester Airport.
Greater Manchester Police stopped a man carrying five gold bars in his hand luggage as he prepared to fly abroad in May 2025.
The haul totalled more than 15kg of the precious metal.
Officers believed the collection of bars could be part of suspected criminality.
Following a months-long investigation by officers in the Economic and Cyber Crime Unit, the force presented its case to Manchester Magistrates Court.
The hearing granted a forfeiture order for the value of the gold bars under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
The outcome, totalling £1.81million for the value of the gold bars, is the biggest haul ever awarded to GMP.
Police have been permitted to keep £1.8million worth of gold they seized at Manchester Airport
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GREATER MANCHESTER POLICE
The force said 50 per cent of the funds would be reinvested into communities across Greater Manchester via the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme (ARIS).
The ARIS funds local projects fighting and preventing crime, keeping people safe or caring for victims.
The latest ARIS programme saw 12 groups benefit, including a community boxing and sports club in Bolton that put on free classes for over 350 children and free half-term holiday camps, including meals.
The gold was seized at Manchester Airport, where the man was trying to board a flight abroad
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GETTYDetective Inspector Sarah Langley said: “This case reflects our unwavering commitment to tackling all forms of money laundering – whether it involves cash, gold or any other high-value assets used to hide criminal profits.
“Criminals continuously adapt their methods, and so must we.
“By targeting the movement of illicit wealth at every stage, we are dismantling the financial networks that allow organised crime to thrive.
“Our message is clear: whatever the form and wherever it is concealed, we will find it, we will seize it, and we will ensure that crime does not pay.”
No further details about the investigation were released.
The civil recovery investigation, allowing authorities to seize assets suspected of being derived from unlawful conduct without requiring a criminal conviction, has now concluded.