Thousands of pounds confiscated from fraudsters, money launderers and drug traffickers are being ploughed back into improving the police force.

In the past year Thames Valley Police has recovered £750,000 by stripping criminals of their cash, assets and profits as laid out in the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

Now the force's economic crime unit, based at Woodstock and Loddon Valley, has received £115,000 reward from the recovered cash to pay for four new officers and help investigate major financial crime.

In May 2004 Hartwell financial controller Samuel Ominiyi was caught by the crime squad after writing company cheques for himself and others totalling £155,750.

Ominiyi pleaded guilty to obtaining property by deception.

The Economic Crime Unit recovered all the stolen money and returned it to Hartwell.

Investigators are now warning other criminals that following the cash boost they are even better equipped to track down their nest eggs.

Det Insp Dave Edmondson, head of the economic crime unit, said: "Under the new incentive scheme the force will benefit from £114,413 which will be ploughed back into the economic crime unit to increase our capability to investigate a range of criminals, including money launderers, drug traffickers and fraudsters. "Because of this financial boost, we will be recruiting a further four financial investigators.

"As a result the unit will be better able to interpret intelligence on the serious criminals within our area and to ensure that none of their illegal profits are available to them post-conviction.

"We are a victim-focused force, and the ECU does not just pursue confiscation orders.

"We have worked hard on cases where we can strip assets in order to reimburse victims.

"These totals are not included in the figures released.

"The extra officers will help us to continue with this, better serving the victims of crime in the Thames Valley."

In the past financial year Thames Valley Police made confiscation orders totalling more than £550,000, and almost £200,000 in cash forfeiture orders.

Across the country more than £84m was recovered and passed to the Home Office by police investigators.

Under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 Thames Valley wins a share totalling almost £115,000.

Under the incentive scheme, police receive one third of receipts recovered nationally above £40m and next year it will rise to half of that total.