A heroin dealer sentenced to 12 years in prison has been told he must repay just £48,000 of his money.
Mark Wainfur, 33, posed for pictures with cannabis plants and a large amount of cash.
In July 2018, he was sentenced to more than three years in prison after the photos helped link him to a narcotics network.
When he was released from prison, he used an encrypted EncroChat phone to trade cocaine for roughly £1.5 million and heroin worth £500,000.
He thought using the phone would keep his identity disguised, but cops cracked the code and detained him again on September 15, last year.
Wainfur, from Newport in south Wales, pleaded guilty to two counts of providing class A narcotics before the city’s crown court.
On Friday, he appeared at Cardiff Crown Court for proceeds of crime hearing, when it was revealed that he made £1,124,035. He was sentenced to return £48,952 and risks an additional year in jail if he does not.
‘Drugs are a plague to society and wreak significant damage to many sections of the country,’ said Judge Timothy Petts to Wainfur.
‘You organized and participated in commercial selling and gained great financial benefit.’
Gareth Williams, defending, said:
‘He is someone who has made mistakes in his life, and he will now face a very severe penalty for continuing with his offending behaviour.’
Detective Inspector Ian Bartholomew said: ‘Mark Wainfur is an established and prolific drug supplier who thought he was untouchable.
‘He profited from an illegal trade that often leads to other forms of criminal activity and can cause harm and misery within our communities.
‘By using an encrypted mobile communications network to conduct his criminal enterprises, he trafficked more than 20 kilograms of cocaine and heroin into Gwent and laundered significant quantities of cash to buy jewellery over £200,000.’
‘A dedicated team of detectives at Gwent Police has focused on pursuing individuals, like Wainfur, who have used bespoke encrypted mobile devices to conduct their illegal activities at the highest level of serious and organized crime.’
