Drug dealer ordered to pay £20,000 or serve longer prison sentence

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A CONVICTED drug dealer from Hildenborough has been ordered to pay back more than £20,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Christopher Brewer has three months to pay or faces more time in prison on top of the eight-and-a-half year sentence he is currently serving.

Brewer, 28, was found guilty of possessing cocaine with intent to supply and criminal property. He had hidden 13 kilograms of cocaine in his flat in Nizels Lane.

The cocaine had a street value of between £500,000 and £1million and purity levels of almost 100 per cent.

Brewer fled to Spain to try and evade justice, but was caught after trying unsuccessfully to re-enter the UK using a friend’s passport.

A confiscation hearing at Canterbury Crown Court on July 27 found he had benefited from his criminal conduct by £477,350.

His current available assets were valued at £22,491, consisting of cash seized at the property. Failure to pay this sum will see a default prison term of an extra 12 months imposed.

Detective Inspector Annie Clayton of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate said: ‘This order made under the Proceeds of Crime Act will ensure that upon his release Brewer will not be able to continue to enjoy the benefits of his criminal activities.

‘It is also important to understand that where any future assets are identified Kent Police can revisit the confiscation order and take the case back to the court until the full benefit amount set out in order is satisfied.’

She added: ‘Drug addiction causes so much misery to addicts and their families and it is only right that, as well as receiving a suitable sentence, we pursue the profits dealers have made and return that money to the public purse.’

PICTURE: HIGH LIFE: Christopher Brewer fled to Spain

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