Canvey Cocaine supplier ordered to repay profit or face more prison time
Lonnie Tranter has been ordered to pay £40,000 of his criminal profits or face an additional four years in prison.
A cocaine supplier jailed after an extensive investigation carried out by our officers has been ordered to hand over £40,000 of his criminal profits or face an additional four years in prison.
Last year, Essex police revealed how officers policing our neighbourhoods in Canvey used a single phone number and a £20 drug deal as a starting point to take down an entire organised crime group.
This resulted in three drug dealers receiving a total of more than 10 years in prison sentences.
The man at the top of the chain, 36-year-old Lonnie Tranter, of Third Walk, Canvey, supplied cocaine in bulk in exchange for a considerable profit.
He’s now serving a five-year prison sentence.
Police also froze his assets and launched proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
The criminal profits recovered under this legislation are used to fund charitable causes and projects that benefit the community in Essex.
Proceeds of Crime are also used to fund new technology to help various teams tackle crime and protect the public across Essex.
The money demonstrably helps officers tackle a wide range of offending, from rural crime to offences as serious as sexual abuse.
Tranter appeared at Basildon Crown Court on Friday 22 August.
A judge ordered him to pay £40,888.78 of his ill-gotten profit, giving him two months to pay the total or risk a further four years in prison.
'Cases don't end at sentence'
PC Samuel Scrivener, officer in the case, said:
“This investigation demonstrated our continuing commitment to tackle the drug-driven offending causing issues for our neighbourhoods in Canvey.
“Cases like this start with the intelligence we receive from people experiencing issues with drug dealing near their homes.
“We really rely on the information we receive from the public.
“You might not see an immediate police response. Your information is instead used to build on our evidence and get us to the point of making arrests in cases just like this.
“Solid cases, built carefully against committed drug dealers, means lengthy prison sentences and a reduction in violence in our district.
“Please keep talking to us.
“Even when we see committed criminals like Tranter jailed, our work doesn’t stop there.
“Drug dealers might think they can leave prison and continue to enjoy the profit they made off their illegal and harmful trade.
“They couldn’t be more wrong. Their profits will be confiscated.”