Battle over Coseley hidden cash won by police

Two men have lost an 11-month battle with police to keep £320,000 cash found in a raid on a house in Coseley, it was revealed today.

The money – mostly in £50 and £20 notes – was discovered by a police sniffer dog. The cash had been hidden in a secret bathroom compartment and a holdall concealed in a bedroom.

The springer spaniel was part of the police team that raided the property in Skidmore Road, Coseley, during an investigation into alleged money laundering last September.

Two men, 64-year-old James Butler and Burt Stanley, 58, insisted that the cash had been honestly earned. But West Midland Police contested the claim. The legal tug-of-war for the cash ended at a civil hearing held at Birmingham Magistrates Court this week which ruled in favour of the police.