Drug Dealer Must Pay £200 from £800k Criminal Profits

A member of an organised crime group involved in the supply of heroin and cocaine in south Wales has been ordered to pay back just £200 despite making more than £800,000 from his criminal activities. 💰

Rhydian Charles, 27, from Llanelli, was sentenced to four years and five months in prison for conspiracy to supply class A drugs as part of a gang led by Tufial Akthar, 41.

A Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Tuesday heard Charles benefited to the tune of £831,519 as a result of his offending, but only has assets worth £208. Judge Paul Hobson ordered the defendant to pay that sum within three months or serve an additional seven days imprisonment in default.

The criminal network was dismantled during Operation Solidago, an investigation by regional organised crime unit Tarian. Police seized drugs with an estimated value between £157,510 and £219,680, including 5.25kg of heroin and 1.5kg of cocaine.

Court proceedings revealed that Charles travelled to Cardiff from Llanelli on August 24, 2021, with Jamie Davies, 30, and Grant Clarke, 29. Davies took a kilogram of cocaine from Akthar and placed it in Clarke’s car. Clarke was stopped by police shortly after while driving back to Llanelli, leading to the discovery and seizure of the cocaine.

The investigation uncovered extensive criminal operations involving multiple defendants:

• London dealer Khadar Mire, 37, travelled to Cardiff to meet Akthar, his partner Aurelia Sterian, 28, and Abdi Dualeh, 29
• Courier Hafiz Aslam, 36, was caught with 4.5kg of heroin while returning from London
• Leighton Morris, 53, a heroin customer from Briton Ferry, was arrested with half a kilogram of heroin
• When Akthar and Mohamoud Goth, 39, were arrested, police found weighing scales, plastic bags, cutting agent and large amounts of cocaine, crack cocaine and heroin at Goth’s flat
• A search of Akthar’s house in Roath yielded £500 in cash, a money counting machine, scales containing traces of cocaine and heroin, and luxury jewellery including Cartier and Rolex watches