Smirking drug gang leader to pay £28,000 despite making £570,000
Jamie Webber, 35, led an organised crime gang which trafficked nearly three kilograms of cocaine in a nine-month period
Jamie Webber
(Image: Gwent Police)
A smirking leader of an organised crime gang (OCG) which trafficked nearly three kilograms of cocaine has been ordered to pay back £28,000 despite making more than half a million pounds. He and a co-defendant were responsible for running a drugs line used to sell drugs over a nine-month period.
Jamie Webber, 35, and Said Khan, 35, headed up the OCG and recruited Michael Cornwall, 43, Alexa Cronin, 42, and Sinead Carey, 24, as drug runners selling cocaine directly to users in Newport, Cwmbran, and Pontypool. Nabeela Kaid, 36, was also involved in the sale of drugs.
Drug warrants were carried out by officers from Gwent Police's serious and organised crime unit who dubbed the investigation Operation Biggin. For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter here.
Addresses in Newport were raided and 15 mobile phones were seized.
Webber, Cornwall, Kaid, Cronin, and Carey all admitted conspiring to supply cocaine and were sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court.
Webber was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. Cornwall was sentenced to five years imprisonment.
Nabella Kaid was sentenced to three years and four months imprisonment.
Cronin Was sentenced to 28 months imprisonment. Carey received a suspended prison sentence.
Said Kaid was sentenced to eight years imprisonment.
A Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) hearing at Cardiff Crown Court heard Webber benefited to the tune of £570,338 as a result of his criminal activities but only has assets worth £28,782.
Judge Eugene Egan ordered the defendant to pay that sum within three months or serve an additional two years imprisonment in default.
Following the sentencing hearing detective chief inspector Matthew Edwards, of Gwent Police, said: "I would like to thank everyone who played a role in Operation Biggin, a lengthy and thorough investigation, during which meticulous work from our data analysts and digital forensics teams uncovered a wealth of evidence to bring these defendants to justice.
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"Illegal drugs fill our communities with misery, suffering, and fear and those who prey upon the vulnerable in our society are driven by profits; they do not care about the pain they cause.
"We welcome any information which can help bring people like these criminals to justice and make a difference to our communities."
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