9:30am Friday 12th March 2010
By Jon Livesey
A DRUG dealer whose gang flooded Burnley’s streets with heroin has been ordered to pay back £46,500 of his ill-gotten gains.
Carl Howarth, 36, was also told by a judge that he must also hand over his £6,000 Lexus IS200 car after a Proceeds of Crime hearing.
Howarth and three co-defendants Dale Barrett, 39, Brian Hedgecock, 36, and Kieron Hadcroft, 44, were jailed last year for a total of more than 13 years.
Police said the gang was responsible for a ‘huge’ proportion of the heroin supply in Burnley.
Officers said their operation, which was run as a business, had hundreds of customers across the town.
Howarth, 36, was sentenced to three years last October for his part in the operation.
The court heard the £46,500 figure was equivalent to the value of his assets, including his home in Laithe Street, Burnley Wood.
In addition, the luxury vehicle, which he drove around Burnley, was also made the subject of a forfeiture order by the judge.
He is not required to sell the house, although if he does not, he will have to find the money from somewhere else, the court heard.
Howarth now has six months to pay back the money.
If he fails to do so he will have to serve a default prison sentence of up to 12 months and will still owe the money on his release.
Det Sgt Martin Kennedy, of Burnley Police, said: “Howarth went quietly about his business one which was illegal and damaging.
“He drove a nice car and owned his own home but he wasn’t particularly lavish and actually appeared to obscure his wealth to a degree.
“However, behind the scenes he had amassed a significant amount of money which will now be taken away from him.
“We are pleased that he has not only been given a custodial sentence but also lost his wealth.
“Offenders will be targeted by police and they will be caught – this man and dozens of others are testament to that.
“And, when we do catch up with them, we will use every tactic available at our disposal to make sure they pay for their crimes.”
Howarth was targeted in October 2008 as part of Operation Furnace, a police crackdown on the supply of Class A drugs in Burnley.
Officers staked out the drug dealers for two months amassing evidence against the gang.
The financial investigator, who worked on the case, said: “This case underlines our determination to recover the proceeds of crime. Howarth is a criminal and should not be allowed to enjoy the profits from his crime, a crime which ultimately destroys communities.
“The Proceeds of Crime Act is one of many tools we are using to come down hard on offenders, it has given police powers to strip criminals of assets acquired through crime.
“By targeting the profits of crime we send a clear message that crime most certainly does not pay and anyone looking to fund their lifestyle from crime should take note.”
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