Proceeds of Crime hearings have ordered a 30-year-old man and a 37-year-old woman to pay nearly £400K following a drug dealing investigation.
Paul Nicholson, 30, of no fixed abode, appeared at Carlisle Crown Court on the 4th February. It was found that he had benefitted from crime to the value of £369,614.70, which is now a forever debt. A police investigation also showed that he was owed £11520.50 through a drugs debtors list. He has three months to repay the £11520.50, or he will receive an additional seven months custodial sentence.
Appearing at Carlisle Crown Court on July 30th of last year, Nicolson receive a six and a half years custodial sentence.
Lynsey Horne, 37, previously of Hall Grange, Bolton, was also sentenced on the 30th July 2020, she received an 18-month sentence suspended for two years, and also ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and pay £1,500 in costs. In a Proceeds of Crime hearing, held last month (Jan 2021), it was found that Horne benefitted from her crime to the value of £28,594.
The sentence's were in connection to drug related offences, which took place between November 2018 and December 2019.
After the criminal investigation concluded, a Proceeds of Crime Act investigation was then launched by Cumbria Constabulary.
A spokesperson from Cumbria Constabulary said: "These two cases should make people think twice before getting involved in crime as a way to make money.
"Nicholson, not only faces time in jail and a criminal record, but he also has a forever debt in the hundreds of thousands of pounds. He has been made to pay back his gains leaving him no benefits from his criminal activity.
"This case demonstrates that a police investigation isn't always over when criminals are sentenced in court. We will continue to target criminals who gain money from their crimes and we will work hard to ensure that the money is re-payed to the victims or the community the offender has affected."
