South Yorkshire drug dealer ordered to pay £13,000 after lying about criminal income

A jailed Doncaster drug dealer who lied about his assets will have to pay back £13,000 in three months - or have his stay behind bars extended.
Sheffield Crown CourtSheffield Crown Court
Sheffield Crown Court

In what is the first case of its kind in South Yorkshire, a Sheffield Crown Court judge has ordered 35-year-old Lewis Metcalfe to repay the sum or face having an extra nine months added on to the two-year prison sentence he is serving.

Metcalfe, formerly of addresses in Branton, Doncaster and Harworth, Nottinghamshire, was jailed in December. He admitted perverting the course of justice after South Yorkshire Police found he had lied about how much he had earned by producing cannabis.

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In December 2014, Metcalfe received a 12-month suspended prison sentence in December 2014 for growing the drug at a rented property in Newmarket Road, Cantley.

Under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, officers carried out an investigation to recover any money made and assets gained from his crime. And they found Metcalfe had lied about his income and the interest he held in numerous vehicles.

Metcalfe held a motor traders’ insurance certificate, but did not account for any of the several vehicles he was associated with when he made his financial submission to the court.

He was charged with perverting the course of justice, pleading guilty, and received a 20-month prison sentence for the offence and an extra six months for breaching his suspended sentence for growing cannabis.

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This led to Friday's court hearing and the £13,000 confiscation order.

PC Gemma Ibbitson said: “This was the first case of its kind in South Yorkshire where someone has been prosecuted for perverting the course of justice following an application to recover funds under the Proceeds of Crime Act, or POCA.

“Metcalfe’s prosecution and confiscation order sends out a clear message to anyone who chooses a life of crime and considers making a dishonest declaration when subject to action under POCA, we will pursue you with vigour in order to recover your ill-gotten criminal gains and you may go to prison if you choose to present false detail to the courts, as well as having your criminally gained assets seized.“