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Gang boss who was arrested in his pants to pay back fraction of £764k gains
Gang boss who was arrested in his pants to pay back fraction of £764k gains
Luke Mattan, 36, of Cardiff, was sentenced to 15 years and eight months imprisonment for conspiracy to supply class A drugs
Drug dealer Luke Mattan arrested outside his home in underwear
An organised crime gang leader who was arrested outside his home in his underwear has been ordered to pay back just £1,700 despite benefiting by more than £700,000. He was involved in the supply of thousands of pounds worth of cocaine.
Luke Mattan, 36, of Cardiff, ran the crime group alongside his "number two" Saswall Abdullah, 27. Both men were involved in the supply of 12kg of cocaine. They were also connected with Joseph Thomas-Mullen, 49, a member of the Liverpool gang based in south Wales who would collect debt money from Mattan on behalf of an upstream supplier.
In April 2020 an arrangement was made for Mattan to purchase 5kg of cocaine for £195,000 from Thomas-Mullen and the upstream supplier. For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter.
Mattan was also given two keyworker certificates to be used by his couriers in case they should be stopped by the police during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Luke Mattan, 35, of Cardiff, was involved in the supply of 12kg of cocaine.
(Image: South Wales Police )
Mattan's courier Carla Trace, 43, drove a hired Nissan Juke wearing a carers uniform to London on April 5, 2020, to pick up the 5kg of cocaine before stopping at an address in Fairwater, Cardiff, where Abdullah lived. Trace was arrested on April 23, 2020.
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Luke Mattan was arrested on June 17, 2020, at his home. Footage released by South Wales Police showed the dealer in his underwear as police armed with a taser place him in handcuffs outside his front door.
Thomas-Mullen was arrested on July 17, 2020 at Cardiff Airport upon returning from Malaga, and Adullah on July 22, 2020.
Luke Mattan's siblings, Kirsty Mattan, 34, and Jordan Mattan, 32, were also involved in the enterprise as couriers.
In April 2020, Kirsty Mattan collected £14,480 on behalf of her brother. She also acted as a courier by delivering money and a gram of cocaine to Thomas-Mullen.
Drug dealer Luke Mattan, 35, was arrested outside his home in Cardiff in his underwear.
(Image: South Wales Police )
Kirsty Mattan was arrested in August 2020 and denied being involved, but claimed others had access to her phone.
Jordan Mattan, who acted as a "storeman" of class A drugs, was arrested on June 17, 2020. He was found to have delivered 600g of cocaine to Porth in March 2020.
Luke Mattan, of Fairwater, Cardiff, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs.
He was sentenced to 15 years and eight months imprisonment, last year.
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A Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Monday heard Mattan had benefited to the tune of £764,435 as a result of his offending, but only has assets worth £1,788.
Judge Shomon Khan ordered the defendant to pay that sum within three months or serve an additional one month imprisonment in default.
