Cash blow for coke dealer

Tuesday June 2, 2009

A jailed cocaine dealer from Shepherds Bush has been dealt a second blow after being told he has to pay back ill-gotten gains of more than £40,000.

Carl Junior Johnson, 29, of Loftus Road, had already been sentenced to two and a half years behind bars in February for a drugs offence.

But a judge at Blackfriars Crown Court last month ordered Johnson to also hand over almost £42,000 he has earned through illegal drug-dealing.

Police confirmed they will immediately seize £3,000 worth of possessions and will continue to confiscate any assets until the debt has been paid off. Det Insp Tony Murphy said the order had been made under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

The law gives police the power to calculate how much money a dealer has made from their illegal trade over a six-year period and ask for this to be recovered. "

Once Mr Johnson has served his prison sentence we will 're-visit' him regularly, seizing any savings or valuable belongings he acquires, perhaps a house or even a car, until the full value of the debt is paid off," said DI Murphy.

Under the legislation, even money Johnson tries to leave to relatives after his death can be clawed back.

And Det Supt Stephen Cassidy added: "These powers are described by some as 'draconian' but it is only right that Class-A drug dealers who bring misery to our communities are hit hard where it hurts them most - in their pockets.

"We know that such dealers often accept prison sentences as an occupational hazard, but what they really hate is to find that they and their families are losing their ill-gotten gains in this way.

"We will continue to mercilessly target such drug dealers and any family members who benefit from these crimes."

Johnson was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment on February 23 after being convicted of possessing just over 2.5grams of cocaine with intent to supply.