Criminals’ prized possessions auctioned off for good causes on new BBC One series Ill Gotten Gains

Ill Gotten Gains, broadcast on BBC One at 9.15am from Monday to Friday this week, will follow the story of the Albernina, which the gang used to sail 22 assault rifles and nine pistols from Eastern Europe to a marina in Rochester, Kent, where they planned to transport them and sell them onto the streets of London.

The National Crime Agency launched a covert surveillance operation following a tip off from Kent Police, which led to armed officers taking down the gang in one of the biggest ever gun seizures on mainland Britain. The dramatic arrests included a chase into a local McDonalds where the final member was tackled to the ground in front of unsuspecting families eating their lunch, all captured on CCTV footage.

Tuesday’s episode reveals how the Albernina was later sold at a Proceeds of Crime auction to the highest bidder, with the money going towards charity work and community projects.

The series, presented by Rav Wilding and Angellica Bell, features several other high-profile cases including:

• Golem, a family yacht, was swooped on in Dover by the Border Force in one of Britain's largest ever drug trafficking seizures. Two men were arrested as cocaine with a street value of £120 million was found stashed aboard. The boat was later sold under the hammer at a Proceeds of Crime auction.
• Benefit fraudster Dean Ahmed, who was able to build up a £1 million property empire, was jailed for two years and financial investigators forced the sale of one of his properties at auction.
• Kirk Claus, one of the UK's biggest second-hand dodgy car dealers, gets his final comeuppance as he's ordered to pay back £6 million he cheated out of customers by selling them faulty cars.
• Con-woman Claire Miller duped an estimated 17,000 men into parting with money to join an escort agency she claimed to have set up. Police seized her large collection of shoes and handbags from brands such as Chanel, Louboutin and Jimmy Choo, and sold them all off at a Proceeds of Crime auction.
• Love rat Matthew Samuels conned five women out of their savings whilst pretending to be interested in romancing them. A police investigation into his lifestyle discovered that he spent the money on buying expensive cars, and subsequently they were all auctioned off and the proceeds given back to his victims.

As well as telling the stories behind the lots, Ill Gotten Gains speaks to victims about their suffering at the hands of multi-millionaire criminals. The series also looks at how proceeds of crime money then goes to good causes, including helping to fund a Manchester youth club, Lylac Ridge farm in Wales which helps disadvantaged children and adults, and the Chesterfield Canal Trust.

Angellica Bell says: “Ill Gotten Gains is a dynamic and ground-breaking new daytime series which uses compelling stories to shed light on how crime doesn’t pay.”

Rav Wilding says: “Viewers will witness dramatic accounts and hard-hitting footage of police systematically taking down Britain’s criminals and discover how the money seized is making life for innocent people much better.”

PT