Taxi-driving coke dealer told to use home to pay back dirty moneyhttps://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/l ... ld-6629079He had cocaine in his pants and equity in a houseA drug-dealing taxi driver who hid cocaine down his pants must release equity in a house he owns to pay back the thousands of pounds he made from his ill-gotten gains
A Proceeds of Crime Act hearing, at Derby Crown Court, heard how Casey Johnson benefitted to the tune of £12,522.71 from his criminality.
In many cases offenders like him are penniless and are often made to hand over just a nominal £1.
But 29-year-old Johnson, has more than £20,000 to his name and so will have to hand over a substantial chink of that to pay back what he made selling class A substances. It will likely mean either remortgaging or selling the property.
And if he doesn't do that by May 9, he could face a nine-month jail sentence.
Judge Robert Egbuna told him: "The benefit figure is £12,522.71 which is what the Crown suggest you made from your criminal activity.
"The available amount is £20,341.15, £12,522.71 of which will be forfeited."
Lisa Hardy, prosecuting, said that available cash is from equity the defendant has in a property.
The Proceeds of Crime Act (or POCA) allows the police to apply for cash to be seized from criminals who have made their money from ill-gotten gains.
It is typically used after drug dealers have been sentenced and can see criminals forced to sell properties, cars or jewellery that belongs to them to pay the cash back.
The money that is seized is split 50-50 between the police and the Government and is often used to fund community projects.
Importantly, if a convicted criminal comes into money later in life which he or she does not currently have, police can still apply to have that seized.
At his sentencing hearing in January 2021, prosecutor Mrs Hardy said police were alerted by members of the public that Johnson had been selling wraps of drugs outside the Green Dragon pub, in High Street, Dronfield, on June 2, 2018.
She said officers approached and searched him and found balloons, gas and bags containing traces of white power on him.
Miss Hardy said they arrested him and took him to Chesterfield police station where they found eight bags of the class A substance in the vehicle and more cocaine down his underpants.
She said: “The defendant was in possession of two mobile phones and a man bag which contained £415 in cash.
“He said that was birthday money which he had planned to spend later that night having a ‘blow out at a casino’.
“The phones were analysed and found to contain messages consistent that he had been supplying drugs for around a year.”
Miss Hardy said the prosecution accepted he was selling at a street level to friends and friends of friends.
Johnson, formerly of Royston Croft, Hackenthorpe, Sheffield, but who the hearing was told is now living with his partner at an address in Chesterfield not given to the court, pleaded guilty to supplying and possessing class A drugs.
He was handed a two-year jail term, suspended for two years, with Recorder William Harbage QC saying: “There has been a considerable and unacceptable delay since you were arrested.
“Some of that delay may be your fault because when you were arrested you were not frank with the police and it seems you gave a false pin number to them for one of the phones they seized.
“But I am not satisfied all of the delay was down to you.
“Since then you have sorted your life out, reconciled with your partner and she has written a letter in support of you.
“You work as a self-employed taxi driver and she is a hairdresser and you have both been affected by the Covid pandemic.
“The delay has worked in your favour.”
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