James Bury, 39, thought he had the postal system sewn up for his drug biz. Not anymore, bruv. The North West Regional Organised Crime Unit (NWROCU) caught him red-handed with four parcels of cocaine, totalling over 2kg, en route to Northern Ireland. He's done ten and a half years inside for it.
Now, under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA), Bury's got another kick in the teeth: he's been ordered to cough up £49,133 in assets, including £2,000 in crypto. The court reckoned he banked a cool £665,130 from his criminal capers, but only £49k is on the books.
Detective Constable Darren Gibson laid it down: "Confiscation proceedings are crucial to disrupt organised crime. Crime might pay for a minute, but not when we take back what you stole. Bury's case proves that."