Nearly two million pounds worth of property and cash has been confiscated from criminals in Cheshire in the past 12 months.
Cheshire Police Financial Investigation Unit successfully applied for 98 Confiscation Orders with a total value of more than £1.36 million. Ninety six cash seizures brought in another £505,000.
Assistant Chief Constable Ruth Purdie said, "Most of this comes from people who are involved in, or have connections to, serious organised crime.
"Recovering this money sends a clear message to criminals at all levels that they will not profit from what they are doing. Anyone who thinks they can complete a prison sentence and then simply resume a lifestyle financed by the crimes they have already committed can think again.
"In some cases the criminal′s current assets don′t meet our assessment of what he, or she, has gained from crime. In these cases, we are able to take all the existing assets now and we have the option of recovering the rest at a later date if the person comes into some money."
More than £640,000 of the money recovered by Cheshire Police has been paid to victims of crime as compensation. The rest has been channelled into funds to combat crime. Much of it will be used in Cheshire.
Houses, cars and other assets seized from criminals are sold at auction but six months ago Cheshire Police began selling smaller items on ebay.
Detective Sergeant Karen Jaundrill, from the Financial Investigation Unit, said, "We put property ranging from expensive bikes and electrical goods to bags and purses for sale on ebay. We thought it would bring better prices than we were getting at auction and it seems to work. We have raised £20,000 from the ebay site, so far.
Assistant Chief Constable Purdie said, "Money is at the heart of organised crime. Hitting criminals in the pocket is a very effective deterrent."
To see the Cheshire Police ebay site visit the Cheshire Police website.
