Cocaine and cannabis dealer from Peterborough ordered to pay back £32,000 in ill-gotten gains
Air pistol, drugs, cash and phones found in car
A cocaine and cannabis dealer from Peterborough has been ordered to pay back more than £32,000 in ill-gotten gains.
The order was made against Jamie Payne (24) of Fitzwilliam Street, Peterborough, following a financial investigation by the police’s Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU) which discovered Payne had benefitted by £83,385.49 from his criminal conduct.
A Proceeds of Crime Act hearing at Cambridge Crown Court on April 24 ordered Payne to repay his currently held cash and assets worth £32,164.84 and instructed that he pay this amount within three months or face six further months in prison.
The action came after Payne had been sentenced to two years and 10 months in prison in October 2023 after pleading guilty to possession with intent to supply cannabis and cocaine.
The court heard that police had carried out a warrant in Granta Close, St Ives, in February 2021, after concerns drugs were being dealt from the property by Payne.
Parked outside in his Vauxhall Astra they found a bag of class A and B drugs, five mobile phones and £4,060 in cash.
A revolver air pistol was also found under the driver’s seat.
The same day Payne was spotted as the passenger in a Volkswagen Golf in Warboys.
Police stopped the car in St Ives and Payne ran off taking a black bag with him.
He was later arrested, and the bag, containing further drugs and £2,700 in cash, was seized.
His mobile phone contained messages linking him to drug dealing and videos showing class A drugs being filmed and offered for sale.
PC Katie Glass, who investigated, said: “Payne was selling class A and B drugs across Huntingdonshire.
"Now, not only has he got a significant prison sentence, but he must also pay back his ill-gotten gains.
She added: “We will continue to disrupt the supply of drugs in Cambridgeshire and tackle the associated criminality to ensure the safety of the residents of the county.”
Anyone with information about drug activity in their communities is asked to contact police.