Drug dealer ordered to pay back £130,000 at POCA hearing

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A Bridgend drug dealer has been ordered to pay back more than £130,000 he made from his criminality.

Two men were jailed last year following raids where officers seized more than £100,000 worth of illegal drugs.

Stephen Edwards, aged 51, of North Cornelly, was sentenced to three years and nine months in December, 2018, after pleading guilty to possession with intent to supply a controlled drug of class A – cocaine and possession with intent to supply a controlled drug of class A – heroin.

At a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing held in Cardiff Crown Court today, (May 16) Edwards was ordered to pay back £131,080 which he had benefited from his crimes.

Edwards was ordered to pay the money within three months or face an additional 12 months in prison in default of not paying within the allocated time.

Under the Proceeds of Crime Act, a person must pay the confiscation order in full and will remain saddled with the debt until it is fully paid.

Officers carried out drugs warrants at three addresses in North Cornelly on June 21, 2018.

They found drugs in two of those addresses; one of those addresses was linked to Edwards.

In total, the drugs found were estimated to have a street value of between £100,815 and £136,970.

Officers found:

• 16,581.33 grams of amphetamine which has a street value of between £44,645 and £74,320
• 729.10 grams of cocaine which has a street value of between £33,100 and £39,580
• 184.64 grams of diamorphine which has a street value of £18,390
• 1,634.70 grams of cannabis which has a street value of £4,680

The majority of the drugs were found on top of cupboards in two bedrooms of the house linked to Edwards.

Detective Inspector Sarah Trigg said: “Edwards and his co-defendant worked together as an organised crime group who were involved in the large-scale supply of drugs in the Bridgend County Borough area. Officers discovered a large quantity of class A and B drugs during the investigation which thankfully will never make it onto our streets.

“Drug dealing will not be tolerated in Bridgend and our dedicated Organised Crime Unit will continue to disrupt and dismantle this type of criminality in our communities.

“Our financial investigators are committed to investigating the financial affairs of criminals to ensure they do not benefit from their ill-gotten gains and I hope this sends a clear message to our communities that there is no benefit from a life of crime.

“The public can really help us by passing on any information about people who may be making a living off their criminal lifestyle. Generally, these people are clearly seen to spend more than their apparent disposable income.”

She added: “I would like to thank the community for the information they provide and would urge anyone with any information about drug dealing in our communities to report it to us – call us on 101, or report it anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”