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Cuxton gun haul boat to feature on BBC show Ill Gotten Gains

The boat found near Cuxton Marina with £100,000 of guns on board has featured on a TV show today.

A new BBC series, Ill Gotten Gains, is about criminals who have their possessions sold off after being found guilty.

Each programme is based at an auction and will tell the stories behind the lots - then viewers will witness the criminals’ possessions going under the hammer.

The guns being unloaded from the boat. Picture National Crime Agency
The guns being unloaded from the boat. Picture National Crime Agency

Today's episode tells the story of the criminal gang who smuggled a deadly cargo of guns worth more than £100,000 into the UK via the River Medway.

The gang smuggled 22 assault rifles and nine pistols from Eastern Europe and planned to 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.

Guns seized near Cuxton Marina
Guns seized near Cuxton Marina

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.

The yacht they used, which was moored near Cuxton Marina, was sold off at a Proceeds of Crime auction and the money was put back into the public purse.

The boat was sold at auction. Pictures: Wilsons Auctions
The boat was sold at auction. Pictures: Wilsons Auctions

The series is presented by Angellica Bell and Rav Wilding.

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.”

Ill Gotten Gains presenters Angellica Bell and Rav Wilding
Ill Gotten Gains presenters Angellica Bell and Rav Wilding

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.”

The gang behind the haul were jailed for a total of more than 90 years in June.

Ill Gotten Gains was on BBC One at 9.15am today. Catch up on the iPlayer.

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