Essex drug ring leaders to pay more than £800,000

The group was led by Abdul Hamid, 35, formerly of Sassoon Way, Maldon and his girlfriend Danielle Stevenson-Roberts, 36, formerly of Church Street, Goldhanger.

Hamid was sentenced to 18 years in jail in April 2021 and Stevenson-Roberts received eight years.

They sold Class A drugs in Essex and the profits were laundered through businesses that they ran in Maldon, which included two restaurants and a tanning salon.

The couple also bought land in Tenerife and high-end cars which included Mercedes saloons and a Rolls-Royce.

Hamid was ordered to pay back £775,011.07 and Stevenson-Roberts was ordered to pay £36,683 as a result of a proceeds of crime hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court.

They both face an additional seven-year sentence if they default on the payments.

Seized - money found in Abdul Hamid's suitcase

They were detained by Border Force officials at Stansted Airport in August, 18 2019 during an investigation when officers suspected them to be smuggling money in their luggage during regular trips to Tenerife.

They were found with £29,000 in cash in their suitcases and the money was seized.

The next day, Hamid was stopped, arrested and charged with a string of driving offences after failing to stop for police in The Street, Latchingdon and crashing into two cars and mounting a pavement where pedestrians were walking.

After a further investigation, they were arrested in February, 2020 and both charged and convicted on conspiracy to supply cocaine and concealing criminal property.

They were jailed with three associates from the drugs ring, Lloyd Bridge, 32, of Brownbaker Court, Milton Keynes, Murshed Uddin, 24, formerly of Mundon Road, Maldon and Andrew Lay, 37, of Victoria Road, Maldon.

Hidden - inside Danielle Stephenson-Roberts luggage

They sold cocaine mainly in Chelmsford, Maldon, Heybridge and the Dengie Peninsula.

Officers found that the drugs line operated every day, around 20 hours a day.

Detective Inspector Frazer Low, of our serious and organised crime unit, said: “This organised crime group had already been completely dismantled but now their funding to carry on any criminality has been removed.

“We know that being sentenced to substantial prison sentences is a risk these people know they are taking but digging into their finances, identifying their criminal gain and then going after that gain hits them even harder.

“The message this sends is clear; we will pursue you if you are involved in organised crime in Essex and we will not stop once you are in prison.”