A Folkestone drug dealer has been ordered to pay back almost £200,000 made from his illegal activities.

Sam Hemmingway, 35, was caught with cannabis, a knuckleduster, and a substantial amount of cash when officers searched his home in Millfield, Hawkinge, in October 2022. Analysis of phone messages by Kent Police detectives revealed that he had been involved in buying and selling significant quantities of the class B drug.

Hemmingway was subsequently sentenced to two years and three months in prison after pleading guilty to possession and supply of cannabis, as well as possession of an offensive weapon.

Financial investigators from Kent Police later found that Hemmingway had assets totalling £195,821. They applied for a confiscation order under the Proceeds of Crime Act, which was granted during a hearing at Canterbury Crown Court on Wednesday, September 25, 2024. Hemmingway must now pay the sum within three months or face an additional three years in prison, with the debt still outstanding.

Detective Inspector David Godfrey commented, “Many criminals are attracted to drug dealing because they believe it is an easy way to make money and because they care little for the harm it causes to everyday people. What they perhaps don’t realise is that after they are arrested and convicted, we will take the money and assets earned unlawfully from them and will continue to do so until every penny has been paid back.”

Assets recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act are distributed to the Home Office and operational agencies, including Kent Police, under the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme.