In a record-breaking confiscation, a drug dealer caught with $6.7 million in cryptocurrency and $1.4 million worth of cocaine has lost all his gains. The West Yorkshire financial crime department seized over £4.9 million in cryptocurrency, which has now been converted into fiat and handed over to the authorities. The remaining disparity will remain as a debt against the drug dealer.
The 42-year-old Simon Barclay operated a marketplace on the dark web from the town of Huddersfield, where he mailed illegal substances across the UK in exchange for cryptocurrency. Kirklee police and the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Cyber Crime Unit were informed of Barclay’s dark web activity by the UK’s Dark Web Intelligence Collection and Exploitation team (DICE), who tracked him down.
After stopping Barclay on his way to the post office, police discovered envelopes containing both cocaine and heroin in his bags. Upon searching his property, they found a multimillion-dollar stash of cocaine and heroin, alongside £5 million in crypto. Barclay was sentenced to nine years in prison after pleading guilty to possession of Class A and B drugs, along with the possession of criminal property (cryptocurrency) used to launder money.
Lawmakers say that Barclay had a benefit figure of £7.1 million. As well as the confiscation of his gains, Barclay will receive a five-year serious crime prevention order that’ll begin once he is freed. This is a measure to prevent the former drug dealer from returning to a life of crime.
The head of the Yorkshire and Humber regional economic and cyber crime Unit stated, “Barclay used 21st century technology to run his large-scale drugs supply network. Ironically though, it was his attempts to stay hidden by using the dark web which brought him to our attention.” The confiscation of his cryptocurrency is seen as a major victory in the fight against illegal activities on the dark web.
