Cheshire Police auction criminals' assets on eBay

An account has been opened on the internet auction site eBay by Cheshire Police to sell off criminals' assets.

Under the Proceeds of Crime Act, offenders can be deprived of any financial benefit of their crimes.

They can be ordered to sell off assets in order to repay the money they have made.

The cash raised from the eBay auctions will go to the Home Office. Cheshire Police will receive a share of the profits, a spokesman said.

Det Sgt Karen Jaundrill, of Cheshire Police's Financial Investigation Unit, said: "By selling items in this way, we hope to generate a bigger income from criminal assets, which in turn will benefit victims of crime and be reinvested in local policing initiatives."

This week, a television, DVD player, games console, vacuum cleaner and MP3 player, have been put up for auction.