Dealer must pay £11,260
A DRUG dealer who is currently serving a sixyear sentence will have to hand over £11,260 under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Simon Morelli was ordered to pay the amount back within three months at a hearing in Cardiff Crown Court on Monday, South Wales Police said.
A substantial amount of amphetamine and heroin was found at his address in Llwyn Derwen, Kenfig Hill, when it was raided by police in March, 2016.
Over £7,760 in cash was also seized.
When Morelli, 41, was sentenced in April 2016, the prosecutor said that all the evidence, including text messages on a phone, pointed to him playing a leading role in directing and organising the sale of class A and class B drugs on a commercial scale.
Drugs found at the address were deemed to have a street value of approximately £11,530, so the cash, plus realisable assets owned by Morelli, which include a Ford Fiesta and a Yamaha quad bike, will now be sold to realise that amount.
At his sentencing in Cardiff Crown Court in April, Judge Michael Fitton QC said he was satisfied Morelli had a leading role in the supply of drugs.
“Saying you were buying in bulk and selling the excess, I regard as a completely inadequate explanation,” said Judge Fitton.
Detective Inspector Andy Paddison said: “This successful confiscation has ensured that Simon Morelli does not profit from his drug dealing.
“He will be required to pay back £11,260 within months or else have his prison sentence increased.
“Under the Proceeds of Crime Act, the subject is saddled with the debt even upon their release, and that remains the case until it is paid back in full.”