Properties, cars and watches are among the items seized from a drug kingpin who amassed a £28million empire. Jordan Talbot was jailed in 2021 for 21 years and nine months after EncroChat leaks revealed he was involved in a plot to flood the country with more than 500kg in heroin and crack cocaine.
The drugs boss was back in front of a judge at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday, June 5, for a hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Talbot's defence lawyer, Richard Pratt KC, revealed that the 31-year-old had amassed a staggering £28,435,622 fortune from his illegal activities.
The court heard that the "top level controller" only had £400,000 available to repay currently. According to the Liverpool Eco, these assets included £18,000 proceeds from a sale of a garage on Moore Street in Bootle which he ran Moore Street Tyres Ltd from.
Other assets included Talbot's £22,100 share of equity in a house on Orlando Street, two Rolex Yacht Masters valued at £11,600 and £9,000 respectively and a Volkswagen Golf valued at £7,614.
Meanwhile, the grey BMW M140 he was driving when he was arrested as he tried to flee the UK to Spain with his girlfriend was said to be worth £19,195. A Ford Connect van, a Ford C-Max car and a quad bike contributed a further £1,000, £4,000 and £3,500.
Judge Neil Flewitt KC ordered Talbot, who was appearing via video link from HMP Manchester, to pay the £400,000 within three months. He warned the prisoner that failing to comply could result in an additional three years behind bars.
The drugs boss had previously been exposed as the figure being the EncroChat handle "Little Nev" and had planned to move abroad as soon as his licence period for a past sentence for trafficking class A drugs had expired. Ahead of the trip, Talbot had went on a spending spree, treating himself to Rolexes totalling more than £40,000.
Detectives captured the major cocaine, heroin and cannabis dealer as he was about to flee across the English Channel. Judge Flewitt stated that it had been the biggest case of its kind to date and an "extremely grave offence".
Talbot, of Elson Road in Formby, was locked up alongside conspirators James Ward - then aged 32 and of no fixed address, but from Kirkby - and 40-year-old Jamie Carlton, of Church Road in Waterloo. The three men were rumbled when the encrypted communications platform was infiltrated by law enforcement in 2020.
Ward used the pseudonym "StableToast", while Carlton operated the handle "StaleSloth". Andrew Thomas KC, prosecuting, described how their messages revealed "a multi-million pound operation involving the importation of drugs and the substantial supply of kilogram quantities to up to 30 regular customers".
Earlier reports had revealed that Talbot was part of a cocaine gang which hoped to net £1million per month. He and members of the group had enjoyed a "celebratory breakfast" at a garden centre in January 2014.
Prosecutors had complained that he had been "radically under-sentenced" when he received a six-and-a-half year in May 2014. They said that evidence showed he was the "leader of the UK arm" of the audacious enterprise.
Released in April 2017, Talbot went on to become a "top-level controller" which distributed large quantities of drugs daily. Mr Thomas described his role as a "money man" who was employed to assist with finances and "invested in property development to disguise his criminal property".
There had also been evidence that the defendant "was hoping to move to live in Spain" as soon his licence period expired. "Meticulous" records showed sales of £27.7million over a 15-month period, described as the "turnover".
The court heard that Talbot was possibly involved in the distribution of up to 1,000kg of class A drugs over 18 months. Messages showed him discussing paying couriers £300 per kilo for trips and arranging deliveries to Liverpool, Wirral, Skelmersdale, St Helens, Manchester and Milton Keynes.
Ward - then living in Bootle with his girlfriend - was described as a "top level courier" who moved drugs and cash on Talbot's behalf and made "deliveries of up to 24kg of class A drugs in one go".
A Ford Connect van had been chosen "deliberately because it would be inconspicuous" and boasting a secret "hide", which had a concealed locking mechanism. Ward recruited "lower level courier" Carlton - then of Aintree Lane, Aintree - whose record includes eight months in prison for inflicting grievous bodily harm.
Carlton was also given a similarly-adapted C-Max with a hidden compartment. Talbot was arrested in Folkestone, Kent, on July 20 2020 when attempting to leave the UK with his girlfriend in a BMW M140i which had been bought for nearly £20,000.
Talbot, Carlton and Ward all admitted to their part in the conspiracy to supply class A drugs and possession of criminal property.Ward and Talbot also pleading guilty to the supply of class B drugs.
Defending his client, James Hayworth stated that his client had "obtained legitimate employment as a tyre fitter and set up his own business" when he was released from prison. However, he admitted "ultimately there was a debt arising from drugs seized within that original case which attached to him, and he readily returned to a significant level of involvement within this particular drug conspiracy."
Mr Thomas told the court that Talbot was involved in at least 500kg of class A drugs and less than 100kg of cannabis. Ward was jailed for 15 years and nine months alongside him, with Carlton receiving 12 years.
Sentencing, Judge Flewitt said: "You have all contributed to the degradation and human misery that drugs cause to those who take them, their families and the wider community, which is affected by the crimes committed by those who are addicted to them. It's an inevitable consequence of your convictions that your families will also suffer from your criminality."
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