UK police department confiscates over $6M from crypto drug dealer
A drug dealer caught with $6.7 million in cryptocurrency and $1.4 million worth of cocaine has lost the millions of dollars he made on the dark web in a record confiscation of its kind by the West Yorkshire financial crime department.
The 42-year-old Simon Barclay ran a drugs empire from the town of Huddersfield, wherein he operated a marketplace on the dark web and mailed illegal substances across the UK in exchange for cryptocurrency, the BBC reports.
“Barclay used 21st century technology to run his large scale drugs supply network. Ironically though, it was his attempts to stay hidden by using the dark web which brought him to our attention,” said the head of the Yorkshire and Humber regional economic and cyber crime Unit.
Both Kirklee police and Yorkshire and Humber Regional Cyber Crime Unit were informed of Barclay’s dark web activity after the UK’s Dark Web Intelligence Collection and Exploitation team (DICE) tracked him down.
Police stopped the crypto drug dealer on his way to the post office, searched his bags, and discovered envelopes containing both cocaine and heroin. Upon searching his property, authorities found a multimillon dollar stash of cocaine and heroin, along with £5 million in crypto.
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Barclay was sentenced to nine years in prison after pleading guilty to possession of Class A and B drugs, alongside the possession of criminal property (cryptocurrency) used to launder money.
Now, Barclay must give up all his gains. Lawmakers say that the 42-year-old had a benefit figure of £7.1 million. Over £4.9 million in cryptocurrency was found to be at his disposal, which has now been converted into fiat and will be handed over to authorities. The disparity remaining is a debt against him, police said.
On top of this, Barclay will receive a five-year serious crime prevention order that’ll begin once he is freed, as a way to prevent the former drug dealer from returning to a life of crime.
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