Police have made sure drug dealing does not pay in Bradford after confiscating nearly £150,000 from a convicted drug dealer.
Airedale and North Bradford Police have promised more action is on the way after seizing £145, 539 from a convicted drugs dealer at a hearing at Bradford Crown Court today.
Specialist officers from the Division’s Proceeds of Crime (POCA) team succeeded in confiscating the cash from convicted drug dealer Phillip Hullah (54) after judges ruled he had the amount available for confiscation.
Hullah was convicted in January 2010 for drugs offences and money laundering and was sentenced to 30 months and 18 months imprisonment respectively for the offences.
The Ravenscliffe man must now pay all of the cash back to Police within the next six months or face a sentence of two years in prison.
The seizure is the second major confiscation of the new financial year for the Airedale and North Bradford POCA Team which has a number of cases in the pipeline.
In total, officers confiscated around £650,000 from criminals in Airedale and North Bradford over the 2010-2011 financial year, including a £500,000 seizure from a Bradford couple convicted of drugs offences.
All of the cash confiscated from criminals will and is being invested back into Policing and community projects, some of which have already been benefiting across the Airedale and North Bradford area.
Schemes which have already received POCA cash have included local initiatives to provide upgraded home security for residents in Haworth and a scheme to upgrade CCTV coverage in Shipley.
Detective Sergeant Dave Marston who head the specialist POCA unit at Airedale and North Bradford Police, said his team were pleased with the latest seizure.
He said: “This is another significant seizure for the Airedale and North Bradford POCA Unit and it will ensure that cash which was originally the product of the drugs trade will now be used to benefit communities rather than criminals.
“I would ask anyone who thinks people might be benefiting from criminal behaviour in their area and has information to contact the Why Should They campaign, anonymously through CrimeStoppers on 0800 555 111.”
