A university dropout caught with over £1,000 worth of cocaine has been ordered to pay back almost £30,000 under proceeds of crime laws. 💰
Josh Murphy, 26, was pulled over by police in Bridgend on May 20, 2023, while driving under the influence of cannabis. Officers discovered a strong smell of cannabis coming from his Ford Fiesta and found him in possession of drug dealing equipment and cocaine.
A search revealed £400 cash in his wallet, a packet of white powder identified as cocaine, and messages on his iPhone showing he had been supplying drugs to six different numbers. 📱
Police dogs later found 11 grip seal bags of cocaine hidden in a cylindrical pot in the car. A subsequent search of Murphy’s home in Deri Avenue, Pencoed, uncovered £730 in cash, more cocaine, diazepam tablets, weighing scales and zip lock bags.
The total haul included 58 street deals of cocaine weighing 22.13g with a street value between £1,160 and £1,740, plus four deals of cannabis worth £20.
Murphy pleaded guilty to multiple drug offences, telling the court his dependency led to an “emotional breakdown” which caused him to drop out of university. He admitted using up to four grams of cocaine on nights out and half to one ounce of cannabis weekly.
He was sentenced to three years imprisonment at an earlier hearing.
At Newport Crown Court on Friday 30th May, a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing determined Murphy had benefited £33,958 from his offending but only had assets worth £29,535. Judge Daniel Williams ordered him to pay that sum within three months or face an additional 12 months behind bars.
