TWO men serving prison sentences for producing cannabis at an underground factory in Somerset have today been ordered to pay back nearly £35,000.
Adam Williams, from Spaxton, was found to have benefitted to the tune of £39,099 from his criminal activity, and David Bradbury, from West Bagborough, by £35,720.
Following a Proceeds of Crime hearing at Taunton Crown Court, the pair were ordered to pay £31,370 and £2,905 respectively based on their assets, and face additional jail terms (12 months in the case of Williams, six weeks in the case of Bradbury) if the amounts are not paid within six months.
Bradbury, 51, was jailed for 42 months and Williams, 42, for 54 months, at Taunton Crown Court in May last year. A third defendant was found not guilty.
In March 2012, police raided four shipping containers, buried under land at West Bagborough, seizing 151 plants with a street value believed to be more than £150,000.
Dr Kirstie Cogram, manager of Avon and Somerset Police’s Financial Investigation Unit, said: “The public can be assured that we will deprive criminals both of their liberty and assets if they have been making money through illegal activity like this.”
This video, shared by police, shows the underground cannabis factory found in West Bagborough.
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