Man who supplied heroin and cocaine into Deeside ordered to repay £47,000

A man who masterminded a vast illegal drug operation across the UK, which included supplying heroin and cocaine into Deeside has been ordered to repay almost £47,000, the proceeds of his illicit trade.

Edward White, a 64-year-old man, from Elstead Road in Liverpool, was sentenced in 2020 for masterminding a conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine across Scotland, England, and North Wales.

As well as Deeside his illicit network extended to locations such as Anglesey, Devon, Cornwall, and as far as Scotland between January 2017 and September 2019.

His arrest was the result of Operation Tide, a meticulously orchestrated investigation led by North Wales Police in 2019.

The operation brought down White and other members of his criminal gang involved in large-scale drug trafficking. The drugs involved in the Operation Tide Conspiracy are estimated to be worth around £1.8 million.

The final chapter of this criminal saga unfolded on Tuesday, June 27th at Mold Crown Court, where White was the last member of his crime group to appear at a Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) hearing. The court determined that White had a total of £46,920 available for confiscation, all of which is to be retrieved by authorities.

The money reclaimed from criminals like White is often utilised to fund future POCA investigations and to finance crime prevention measures and community initiatives.

Detective Inspector Richard Sidney of the Serious Organised Crime Unit, who led the investigation, said: “More than £873,000 has now been confiscated in total as a result of Operation Tide. The recovery of these substantial funds in this case underlines our commitment to disrupting Organised Crime Group (OCG)-related crime in the strictest possible terms.”

He added: “Drug supply is a blight on communities and can have a devastating impact on people’s lives. As a force, we are committed to pursuing criminals and gangs whose crimes inflict such misery on their victims.”

Echoing this sentiment, Detective Constable Helen Philips asserted, “The confiscation of White’s assets once again sends a clear message that we will relentlessly pursue organised crime, and we will continue to recover wealth gained by illegal consortiums.”

This case represents a significant victory in the ongoing war against organised crime and drug trafficking, demonstrating the effectiveness of operations like Operation Tide and the POCA in dismantling such operations and ensuring that crime does not pay.