Convicted drug dealer’s assets seized

More than £3,500 has been seized from a convicted drug dealer following a Proceeds of Crime investigation by Cheshire Police.

Callum Scanlan, from Winsford, was jailed for six years at Chester Crown Court on 20 June 2018 after police discovered drugs with a street value of around £20,000 at a property in High Legh.

On the morning of 9 June 2016 Knutsford Beat Management officers executed a search warrant at an address in Rensherds Place, High Legh, near Knutsford.

They found buckets and large bags filled with class B drug cannabis and a substantial quantity of class A drug cocaine.

They also found 23.2 kilograms of benzocaine, a cutting agent used in the supply of cocaine, as well as a Taser stun gun and £1,672 in cash.

Scanlan, 27, admitted that the drugs belonged to him and was arrested at the property.

He was released under investigation pending forensic enquiries and then on 26 September 2016 he was arrested by officers on Toft Road, Knutsford, for driving a vehicle whilst under the influence of cocaine.

Some cannabis and £2,065 in cash was found in the car and a subsequent search of Scanlan’s home address discovered a large bag of the class B drug.

Scanlan was subsequently charged with three counts of possessing a class B drug with intent to supply, one count of possessing a class A drug with intent to supply and two counts of drug driving.

He was also charged with possessing a prohibited weapon (the Taser) and ammunition without a firearm certificate.

Scanlan pleaded guilty to all of the charges at Chester Crown Court and on top of his six-year prison sentence he was banned from driving for four years and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £170.

The total amount of £3,737 seized from Scanlan has now been subject to a civil forfeiture at Warrington Combined Court.

The hearing was held yesterday, Wednesday 21 November.

Scanlan claimed that the bulk of the money seized was raised through the sales of puppies but there was no evidenced provided of this and magistrates concluded that the entire sum represented the proceeds of Scanlan’s drug related criminal conduct.

Some of the forfeited money will come back to Cheshire Police to be used in the continuing battle against drug related crime.

Sergeant Lynsey Jackson said: “Scanlan was brought to justice and his ill-gotten gains were seized following the extensive work that the Knutsford Beat Management team put into this investigation and the activities at the property in Rensherds Place.

“Drugs have blighted communities across the UK and cause untold damage to the lives of both people who get addicted to them and the wider community who suffer from the resulting crime.

“Cheshire Police will not stand by and let this happen.”

If you have any concerns relating to drugs activity in your community please call Cheshire Police on 101, give us the details via https://cheshire.police.uk/contact/general-enquiries or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.