A smirking drug lord has been forced to pay only £28,000 despite making £570,000 in trafficked cocaine.
Jamie Webber and a co-defendant were running a drug line where they trafficked nearly three kilograms of cocaine.
Webber was part of an organised crime gang with Said Khan, where the pair recruited Michael Cornwall, Alexa Cronin and Sinead Carey as drug runners selling cocaine directly to users in Newport, Cwmbran and Pontypool.
Nabeela Kaid was also involved in the sale of the drugs.
Gwent Police
|Webber has been sentenced to 10 years behind bars
Drug warrants were carried out by officers from Gwent Police's serious and organised crime unit, who called their investigation Operation Biggin.
Some 15 mobile phones were seized as addresses in Newport were raided.
Webber, Cornwall, Kaid, Cronin, and Carey all admitted conspiring to supply cocaine and were sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court.
Webber was handed a 10-year sentence, with Cornmall receiving five years of imprisonment.
Nabella Kaid was sentenced to three years and four months in prison.
Cornin received a 28-month suspended, while Kaid was sentenced to eight years imprisonment.
A Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) hearing at Cardiff Crown Court heard Webber profited from £570,338 as a result of his criminal activities, but only has assets worth £28,782.
Judge Eugene Egan ordered the defendant to pay the sum within three months or serve a further two years imprisonment.
Wikimedia Commons
|Gwent Police conducted a successful raid known as Operation Biggin
Detective Chief Inspector of Gwent Police, Matthew Edwards, said: "I would like to thank everyone who played a role in Operation Biggin, a lengthy and thorough investigation.
"During which meticulous work from our data analysts and digital forensics teams uncovered a wealth of evidence to bring these defendants to justice.
"Illegal drugs fill our communities with misery, suffering, and fear, and those who prey upon the vulnerable in our society are driven by profits; they do not care about the pain they cause.
"We welcome any information which can help bring people like these criminals to justice and make a difference to our communities."