Almost £3.7million has been confiscated from criminals in Kent in just eight months.

Kent Police has used the Proceeds of Crime Act to seize the cash through the courts from April to November.

About a fifth of the money will be given back to the force by the Home Office.

In addition to the £3.69m seized, another £570,000 has been seized through forfeiture hearings.

These take place if someone has not been convicted of a criminal offence and see police receive half the money.

Kent Police has been using a Range Rover seized from a drug dealer - now branded with anti-crime messages - as a promotional tool to show crime does not pay (pictured below).

DI Mark Fairhurst, from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: "We know that criminals use Kent ports for moving large amounts of cash connected with crime.

"However, cash is now also being moved via property, other tangible assets, and complex offshore accounts.

"Criminals may believe they are becoming smarter at hiding assets but our investigators will trace them and bring them before the courts to recover the proceeds from their criminal behaviour.

"This really enforces our message that crime does not pay, and that offenders leaving the justice system are not benefiting from the crimes they commit."

Among the cases were:

Kevin Palmer, 46, from Dartford, was ordered to pay £132,750 in November after being jailed for nine years and nine months for drug offences.

Olayinka Surakat, 37, from Gillingham, was ordered to pay £163,744 in September after being found guilty of money laundering offences.

Norrie John Hyde, 43, from Sittingbourne, was ordered to pay £101,000 in May after being jailed for two years for money laundering offences.

Kent Police seized around £9m in 2010 under the Proceeds of Crime Act, which did not include money recovered from the Tonbridge robbery.

More than £1.6m was handed back to the force by the Home Office - the second highest amount in Britain.