It's said that crime doesn't pay. But for some, law-breaking is lucrative. Designer watches, expensive house improvements, high end clothes and cash are just some of the spoils Greater Manchester criminals have enjoyed from a life of crime.
But profiting from misery comes at its own price for underworld operators - years in jail before Proceeds of Crime Act hearings strip them of their ill-gotten gains.
Here are just some of the dealers whose expensive tastes cost them their freedom.
Remi Merriman
Despite being unemployed, Remi Merriman had expensive décor in his house, designer clothes, four Rolex watches and expensive bikes. His luxury lifestyle was the product of a cocaine and heroin business, which he operated with another dealer who was using an illicit mobile phone while behind bars.
Merriman worked with 'commercial broker' David Mulligan, who was serving a 17 year prison sentence. Messages recovered by police revealed how Merriman was offering ‘wholesale’ amounts of cocaine and heroin to Mulligan, who was running his own separate drugs line from behind bars.
A ‘snapshot’ of the messages over a seven-week period revealed that Merriman organised the sale of 1.82 kilos of heroin worth between £72,000 and £109,000; and 2.33 kilos of cocaine worth between £116,000 and £166,000. Last month Merriman, 35, of Cambourne Road, Hattersley, was jailed for 12 years after admitting conspiracy to supply drugs and two counts of conspiracy to convey an article into a prison.
Mulligan, 32, of HMP Garth, was jailed for seven-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply drugs.
Mahmood Hussain
Hussain had virtually no money in his bank account, earned 'very little' from three car businesses he owned and did not own a house. Yet within his home were designer clothes, handbags, shoes and jewellery worth thousands.
He had also paid for lavish home improvements houses of family members, including a jacuzzi, a walk-in wardrobe filled with designer gear, and an illuminated stairway. Hussain, 45, from Rochdale, was found to be a heroin dealer.
In 2019 he was jailed for 13 years for supplying heroin with a street value of over six million pounds. Following that case, police investigated his affairs and Hussain was discovered to have laundered a total of £336,000.
In April he received a two year sentence, to run concurrently with his 13 year jail term, after admitting three counts of money laundering.
Steven Moodie
"What cases like this show is how unscrupulous people like Moodie take no shame in profiting from such misery," a detective said after 32-year-old Steven Moodie was locked up. Moodie was pictured flaunting expensive gold watches and jewellery, following his part in a £500,000 cocaine plot.
He was one of many dealers caught out by the law enforcement hack of the EncroChat network, a highly secretive communication system used by organised crime. Moodie was unmasked as being the man behind the 'Fakehippo' handle, and was involved in a plot to supply at least five kilos of high-purity cocaine.
At his Salford home, police found £100,000 worth of gear by labels including Gucci, Dior, Louis Vuitton, and Givenchy, as well as £20,000 in cash. But now he is serving a ten year jail sentence after being exposed. Moodie was sentenced in April after pleading to conspiracy to supply cocaine, cannabis and ketamine.
Adam Hussain
Hussain had amassed luxury goods worth £170,000 on the back of dealing cocaine. A scrap book also boasted of the city breaks he'd enjoyed with his partner.
His dealing was exposed as police raided two properties in Bolton where he'd been living.
Officers found an iPhone containing messages which showed Hussain giving orders to people believed to be street dealers. During the raid, cash totalling more than £4,000 was seized as well as luxury items including a rose gold Rolex watch worth more than £28,000, and pairs of designer trainers, shoes and flip flops.
There was also a scrap book detailing holidays in Barcelona and Rome in 2016, Amsterdam and Mexico in 2017, as well as in London. At a second raid, police seized £115,000 in cash.
Checks revealed Hussain had not been working between 2016 and 2020 and was not claiming benefits. "He benefitted and enjoyed a lifestyle that was unrealistic for him - and now he is paying a particularly heavy price," his barrister told the court.
He said Hussain fell into drug dealing after accruing a debt. Hussain pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, possession of cocaine with intent to supply and holding cash and luxury goods from the proceeds of crime totalling £55,000 in May 2019 and £115,000 in July 2020. In April last year he was jailed for six years.
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