A major drug importer had been ordered to pay back almost £1million after being jailed for smuggling herbal cannabis into the UK.
Criminal assets amounting to £933,768.94 will be seized back from Norman Washington Burton, 57, who was jailed in 2012 for importing kilos of cannabis from Jamaica
Burton’s assets include a significant property portfolio in Jamaica and he was ordered to pay back the money within six months or face a further four-and-a-half-year sentence.
Detective Inspector Mark Jennings said: “During this investigation we have worked closely with colleagues in Jamaica to ensure criminals cannot profit from crime.
“This is a great example of how the Met will not just stop at conviction but will painstakingly search for assets that criminals accumulate and attempt to hide.
“I hope today’s confiscation order sends a strong message that crime does not pay. The Met is determined to put criminals out of business by restraining their assets in the UK and abroad.”
Burton was arrested in June 2010 after planning to import cocaine and cannabis to the UK in in compressed packages within heavy-duty rice sacks, which would be loaded onto a container.
Two days prior to his arrest a container landed at the Port of Tilbury where authorities seized seized 402 kilos of cannabis.
He first appeared at Southwark Crown Court in October 2010 where he pleaded guilty to the conspiracy on the basis that he had acted as an intermediary with contacts in Jamaica and that he was in severe debt. The basis of the plea was rejected by the Crown.
But after officers discovered that Burton had a portfolio of bank accounts, vehicles and land, all confirming his wealth, he admitted playing a significant role in the conspiracy.
He was sentenced at Kingston Crown Court to six years and four months in prison.
