Telford drug dealer jailed for failing to pay back £150,000

Arfan Rashid, aged 33 and of Hadley Park Road, was convicted in August 2011 along with three other men for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.

As part of an operation by West Mercia Police’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit, 2kg of cocaine and £25,000 in cash were seized in March 2010, when a warrant was executed in Trench Lock, Telford. Rashid and the other men were arrested at the scene.

Rashid pleaded guilty at Shrewsbury Crown Court and was sentenced to three years imprisonment.

At a hearing at the same court in July 2012 and using powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act, His Honour Judge Onions ordered Rashid to repay £150,000 to the court.

Police financial investigators calculated he benefited by £240,000 from drug trafficking in cocaine as well as other unexplained financial transactions they uncovered in their inquiries.

Of this, £150,000 was the realisable assets that Rashid owned and was able to repay to society. The Confiscation Order allowed him six months to settle this sum with the court or he would face two years and four months imprisonment.

Rashid was released from prison on licence having served half his sentence and appeared at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on Thursday because he failed to repay the £150,000 and satisfy the Confiscation Order. He was returned to prison for a further 28 months.

Detective Inspector Mark Glazzard of West Mercia’s Economic Crime Unit, said: “The Proceeds of Crime Act means that the punishment of criminals who benefit financially from their offences does not end when they are sentenced in court.

“Rashid’s case shows that we will pursue offenders until they have repaid the money they have made from breaking the law and if they do not they can and will be imprisoned.

“His new sentence does not mean his £150,000 debt has been expunged – it is still waiting for him to pay off.”