A Wirral man who was part of an international heroin and cocaine conspiracy can repay only a fraction of the near £16m he made from his crimes.
Stephen William Metcalfe, 45, was involved with a gang that managed to bring up to 1,304kg of Class A drugs into the UK through manipulating a UPS site on Deeside in North Wales. The conspiracy was worth £186m, but police managed to break it up and Metcalfe was among the conspirators to be prosecuted.
Last year, Metcalfe, of Fairway North, Bromborough, was convicted of conspiring to import a controlled drug with intent to evade a prohibition and was jailed for 15 years. On Wednesday (August 10), he appeared at Caernarfon Crown Court for a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing and was asked to repay his ill-gotten gains, reports NorthWalesLive.
READ MORE: How international £186m UPS cocaine and heroin gang plot was brought to its knees
Prosecutor Robert Dudley said the benefit from the criminal conduct amounted to £15,948,055.40, but that the available sum which Metcalfe could repay was £72,061.76 - half his share of the marital home. The Crown said it must be paid within three months. Barnaby Hone, defending, said matters had been agreed.
The judge, His Honour Timothy Petts said: "I am pleased there has been an agreement of these confiscation proceedings between the Crown and you (Metcalfe). After an extensive investigation by the prosecuting authorities it has been concluded the benefit made from your criminal conduct is nearly £16m - £15,948,055.40 - but following that investigation you have only got the benefit of half your share of your house to pay it back with. I can't order you to pay £15m or £16m when you don't have £15m or £16m."
The judge made the order for the £72,061.76 to be repaid in the terms agreed. If the money isn't paid within three months, Metcalfe could face a further 12 months imprisonment.
In March last year, a court heard the gang created a "unique system" by utilising UPS "waybills" to smuggle 150 drugs packages into the country from Europe between May 2019 and October 2020. Real company names were used as a cover to import the drugs after the group sent empty waybills - a document issued by UPS to acknowledge the possession of a shipment - to drug suppliers overseas.
The system also meant the parcels would arrive in the UK by road and ferry, rather than by air, when they would have been X-rayed. One gang member would scan the parcels and meet another member, then convey the packages to Metcalfe, the court heard. He and two other conspirators were jailed for 15 years each.
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