MAGISTRATES have given police time to probe whether thousands of pounds in cash seized from an M6 motorist is linked to crime.

A man in his 20s from West Yorkshire became the latest man to come under suspicion as Cumbria Police seek to target crooks and stamp out serious and organised crime as part of a crackdown called Operation Alliance.

This has seen hundreds of thousands of pounds confiscated from motorists using the motorway to travel through north Cumbria.

The man was stopped on the M6 north of Carlisle on Wednesday at around midday, the city’s magistrates’ court heard today (Friday).

Police in an unmarked vehicle had pulled over a grey Volkswagen Scirocco as it was being driven southbound close to Junction 45.

The driver got out, identified himself and said he had been visiting Scotland to drop off a friend at a railway station.

The man was asked a number of questions. “He was nervous and agitated,” a financial investigator told magistrates. “All his answers were vague.”

Officers said they would carry out a search of the Volkswagen.

“The man was actually asked if there were any drugs, weapons, stolen property or cash in the vehicle,” said the investigator. “The man answered 'no' when the first three were mentioned, but when cash was mentioned he hesitated.

"That further aroused suspicions.”

Under carpet beneath a passenger footwell mat were four packages, each containing five bundles wrapped in packing tape.

This totalled an estimated £20,000 in Scottish notes. Intelligence pointed to connections with drug trafficking.

“It is my reasonable belief this money is criminal property and is or intended for use in further criminal conduct,” the investigator concluded.

“If the money is legitimate it will be returned to the gentleman. If it is not, I will probably be back before the Bench to ask for forfeiture of the money.”

Magistrates approved detention of the cash for three months, allowing police to make detailed further enquiries.