PAY BACK: Drug dealer forced to hand over more than the £130K found stashed in his home

A DRUG dealer who concealed hundreds of thousands of pounds in his Cambridge home has been ordered to pay back his ill-gotten gains. Shpetim Uruci, 41, of Albanian heritage and formerly of Rayson Way, must repay £144,754 that he made from his crimes in the next three months, or face a further month in jail. He was ordered to repay the money at a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing on Friday (November 19) at Peterborough Crown Court, following a financial investigation by the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU). Police pulled over Uruci in his Mercedes on April 7 after suspecting he was involved in organised drug crime.

He handed over a fake driving licence and gave a fake name but it was after wraps of crack cocaine hidden in a sock, £500 cash and a mobile phone were recovered from his vehicle that he was arrested.

Uruci was taken into custody where his real identity was revealed while officers searching his home in Rayson Way discovered further fake identity documents, drugs, mobile phones and more than £130,000 in cash which had been concealed in dining room chairs, boxes and a wash bag. In July he was sentenced to five and a half years in prison for being concerned in the supply of cocaine, acquiring/using criminal property, driving without a licence and insurance, possession of ID with intent and possession of false ID. Following his sentencing, an investigation was launched by ERSOU’s financial investigation team into the money he had made through his drug dealing. Financial Investigation Manager Andy Gould, from ERSOU, said: “This order made by the court in this case underlines the commitment of our specialist financial investigators to ensure crime doesn’t pay. “We’ll continue to work alongside our local force colleagues and use POCA powers to strip those who engage in the supply of drugs of their illegally gained wealth.”

Detective Sergeant Dan Miller, from Cambridgeshire Constabulary, said: “Uruci was involved in organised drug crime, making long distance trips throughout the UK in order to supply class A drugs. “On top of his prison sentence, a significant amount of money will be handed over by Uruci, half of which will go to the government, the remainder is then split equally between the Crown Prosecution Service, Her Majesty’s Court Service and police. “Drugs and drug related crime can have a negative impact on our communities and its use can harm the health and safety of our residents.” Albanian drug networks have taken over much of the supply of cocaine in the UK, including from its importation into the country, through to distribution to dealers and street dealing.

They have also begun to take over the large-scale home-grown cannabis trade from Vietnamese firms.