Liverpool seatbelt stop led police to £1m drugs cash haul

Stopping a driver who was not wearing his seatbelt led police to a £1m pile of drug money.

Daniel Dunne, 28, was pulled over on Linfield Close in Liverpool on 20 June last year because he had not buckled up.

As he got out of the car, a wrap of cocaine fell out, and searches of an address linked to him uncovered the cash and 1kg (2.2 lbs) of cocaine.

At Liverpool Crown Court on Friday, Dunne, of Greenbank Drive in the city, was jailed for seven years after admitting possession with intent to supply cocaine, and acquiring, using and possessing criminal property.

Dunne was driving his Nissan Qashqai when he was pulled over.

As well as the cocaine, police found £600 in cash inside the car.

At the property they searched, detectives found £1,066,382 in cash, more drugs, weighing scales and a machine used to count the money.

The cash was the subject of a Proceeds of Crime hearing at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 3 September 2024.

The hearing ruled the cash was recoverable property.

It will be sent to the Home Office, and some of it will go back to Merseyside Police to be put towards policing and community projects.

Det Ch Insp Mike Dalton said: “We know all too well how drugs cause widespread misery and devastation in our communities and we are committed to stamping it out and bringing offenders to justice.”