Man who supplied illegal drugs across the UK to be stripped of assets worth £47k

A man who supplied illegal drugs around the country has been ordered to pay back almost £47,000 he made through criminal activity.

Edward White, 64, of Elstead Road in Liverpool, was jailed in 2020 for conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine to areas in Scotland, England and North Wales, including Deeside and Anglesey, between January 2017 and September 2019. 

Operation Tide, an investigation led by North Wales Police in 2019, resulted in the arrest and subsequent imprisonment of White and other gang members.

The case involved large-scale drug supply, with a network that stretched from Merseyside and North Wales to Devon, Cornwall and Scotland.

The drugs in the overall Operation Tide Conspiracy have been valued at approximately £1.8million.

White was the final member of the crime group to appear at a Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) hearing at Mold Crown Court on Tuesday, June 27^th.

The court heard he had a total of £46,920 available for confiscation, all of which will be recovered by authorities.

Police forces receive a percentage of all assets seized, and use the money to fund future POCA investigations, finance crime prevention and help community initiatives.

Detective Inspector Richard Sidney said: “During Operation Tide, the force’s Serious Organised Crime Unit led a detailed and targeted investigation which culminated in the arrest and long-term imprisonment of those involved.

“More than £873,000 has now been confiscated in total as a result of this operation.

“The recovery of these substantial funds in this case underlines our commitment to disrupting OCG-related crime in the strictest possible terms.

“Drug supply is a blight on communities and can have a devastating impact on people’s lives. As a force, we are committed to pursuing criminals and gangs whose crimes inflict such misery on their victims.”

Detective Constable Helen Philips added: “The confiscation of White’s assets once again sends a clear message that we will relentlessly pursue organised crime, and we will continue to recover wealth gained by illegal consortiums.”