Rolex watches to be seized from convicted Kent drug dealer to get back ill-gotten gains
The luxury items were part of almost £60,000 in assets confiscated from the jailed dealer
Rolex and Cartier watches are to be seized from a convicted drug dealer using powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
The luxury items were part of almost £60,000 in assets confiscated from Ditton man Michael Wheaton, who had previously been jailed for his role in a cocaine supply network.
Wheaton was sentenced in April 2024, to 11 years’ imprisonment after being found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine.
He was initially identified by police as a suspect after a car driven by an associate was stopped by officers on the M20, in January 2019.
When searched, the car was found to contain almost 1.5 kilograms of cocaine.
A subsequent investigation connected Wheaton to a burner phone which was topped up at a Ditton petrol station yards from his London Road home.
When Wheaton was arrested two months later, a carrier bag containing almost £10,000 cash was recovered from his property.
He pleaded not guilty at Canterbury Crown Court but was convicted after a trial.
Following the conclusion of criminal proceedings, financial investigators gathered evidence under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
This included analysis of personal bank accounts, as well as business accounts asserted by the Crown Prosecution Service to be sham companies, used to launder illicit funds.
On 20 March 2025, a confiscation hearing was heard at the same court which determined Wheaton, 42, had current available assets worth £57,125 and which will now be seized.
Detective Chief Inspector Helen Smithers said:
‘The Proceeds of Crime Act remains one of our biggest weapons against those who fund a lifestyle from crime. It enables police to claw back any ill-gotten gains from offenders, by allowing us to seize cash, cars and even lavish homes which may have been funded by crime.
Powers derived from the Act can also mean that a criminal continues to pay for his or their crimes long after they have even been released from prison and allow us to recover further assets if they are identified in the future.’