Two brothers who ran a huge drug operation have been ordered to pay back just £23k of the almost £1m they made in profit.
Todd Brown was identified as the head of a gang that shifted cocaine and heroin into North Wales from upstream suppliers in Liverpool. His 32-year-old brother Ben Brown delivered the drugs to Gwenfro in Caia Park and would also collect payments.
The Brown brothers played major roles in a plot which was described as one of the biggest drugs supply conspiracies North Wales Police had ever seen. Earlier this year, they – along with other members of the 18-strong gang – were collectively jailed for around 130 years, WalesOnline reports.
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The courts have reclaimed a fraction of the profits made during the massive venture at previous hearings. The gang is said to have sold around £750,000 worth of heroin and crack from their two Caia Park bases to drug users across the county during the height of the Covid-19 lockdown period.
Judge Nicola Saffman heard at Caernarfon Crown Court that 27-year-old Todd Brown, of Hazel Grove, Wrexham, earned just over £418,733 during his time dealing drugs. However, he only had around £20,530 in the bank to pay back the court.
His older brother Ben, of East Avenue, Wrexham, agreed to a benefit figure of just under £399,644. The court heard he now only had £3,040 to offer up in return.
The judge accepted this was all that the men could offer. She fixed a further hearing for Levi Rowlands, of Gwenfro, as the last gang member due to pay back his ill-gotten gains.
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