Bridport, Crime | Posted on February 21st, 2023 | return to news
Convicted drug dealer ordered to pay back thousands of pounds
It’s payback time for Bridport drug dealer William David Lewis who was convicted and sent to prison in March 2022.
Lewis, 25, had pleaded guilty in 2022 to possession with intent to supply a controlled drug of class B, possession of a controlled class C drug, possessing criminal property, two counts of possession with intent to supply a controlled drug of class A and two counts of possession of a weapon for the discharge of a noxious liquid, gas or electrical incapacitation device.
He was sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court on 2 March 2022 to 30 months and three weeks in prison.
He returned to the same court on Monday 20 February 2023 for a hearing to consider an application under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA).
At around 8am on Friday 13 November 2020 officers from the neighbourhood policing team executed a warrant at an address in King Street.
In the property, a substantial amount of drugs and cash was located, as well as two CS gas canisters.
Lewis was the only occupant within the property and was subsequently arrested.
The total amount of cash seized was £18,270 and the estimated value of the drugs seized was around £78,000.
During the POCA proceedings, the court ruled that the total benefit figure from Lewis’ offending amounted to £122,258.93, with the available amount of £27,270, which includes the cash seized at the time of his arrest.
He was given 28 days to pay the remainder of the available amount or he will face an additional sentence of six months in prison.
Detective Constable Scott Brimicombe, of the Economic Crime Unit, said: “I hope this case demonstrates that we will use POCA legislation where it is available to take illegal earnings from criminals.
“As with all Proceeds of Crime confiscation orders, the outstanding benefit figure is still owed and the case will be reviewed in the future to ascertain if the defendant has acquired further assets.”
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