Detectorists must repay £1.2m after selling hoard
Crooks told to cough up afterViking-era hoard disappeared
TWO Midland treasure hunters have been ordered to cough up £600,000 each after they stole an ancient hoard of coins and jewellery.
George Powell, 41, and Layton Davies, 54, found the items in Herefordshire back in 2015.
Following reports from other metal detectorists, authorities began looking into claims a historical site had been discovered and not reported.
It was found that the men had visited the site of the hoard, which included coins, jewellery and silver ingots, during the spring of 2015.
They not only failed to disclose the extent of their discovery – a requirement under the Treasure Act 1996 – but also sold a large number of the items for significant personal financial gain, police said. The treasure was described by experts as being of national importance both for Viking and Anglo-Saxon coinage and for the wider understanding of a key period in English history. The men have now been ordered to pay back a combined total of over £1.2 million.
The Confiscation Order, under the Proceeds or Crime Act 2002, was made recently at Worcester Crown Court.
Previously, on November 21, 2019, Powell and Davies were found guilty of theft, conspiracy to conceal criminal property and conspiracy to convert criminal property.
They were sentenced to ten years and eight years six months respectively, later reduced to six years and five years following a successful appeal.
At the latest hearing His Honour Judge Cartwright rejected mitigation
presented by both men giving a number of reasons, which mainly centred around conflicting evidence.
The convictions followed a lengthy investigation by West Mercia Police following several reports from the metal detecting community and the British Museum of an unreported large treasure find near Eye in Herefordshire in 2015.
Powell must repay £601,250 and Davies £603,180 in full within three months from December 21, or they will serve five years and four months imprisonment each in default of payment. This term is in addition to their original sentence.
Superintendent Edd Williams, local policing commander for Herefordshire, said: “I’m delighted with the result, which brings closure to an investigation which we have been working on for seven years. The Confiscation Order, coupled with the sentences Powell and Davies received, send a strong and clear message that we take this sort of crime very seriously and will take action.
“It is a criminal offence to not declare finds of treasure to the local coroner’s office.”