Gang leader behind multi-million pound cocaine conspiracy ordered to surrender £45,000 of criminally acquired assets

The leader of a multi-million pound drugs conspiracy in Hampshire has been ordered to pay back more than £45,000 of his criminal earnings.

Louis Edwards, aged 46, formerly of Churchill Close in Waterlooville, was jailed for 18 years and 5 months at Winchester Crown Court on 5 September 2023 following a five-year police investigation, during which he was extradited back to the UK from Spain.

Edwards had previously admitted conspiring to supply cocaine in Portsmouth and the surrounding areas, and conspiring to transfer criminal property – relating to approximately £3.5million of cash that he moved.

All of the offences took place between March 2018 and May 2020, with members of Edwards’ gang playing key roles in moving cash and drugs for him.

In total over the course of the investigation conducted by the Serious and Organised Crime Unit, police seized around £300,000 in cash, more than 70kg of cocaine with an estimated street value exceeding £7million, and more than 20kg of amphetamine.

Edwards and 12 other members of the organised crime group were sentenced for their roles in the conspiracy, with a combined jail term of 76 years.

The defendants used encrypted mobile phones, and Edwards was found to have ordered multiple kilos of Cocaine in April and May 2020 via EncroChat – an encrypted messaging platform which was infiltrated by law enforcement agencies in 2020.

In a bid to evade justice, Edwards fled to Spain in October that year, but was located hiding out in Benidorm in June 2022 before being extradited to the UK.

Prior to leaving the UK, however, he enjoyed his ill-gotten gains, buying himself a new car, designer goods, and a holiday to Dubai.

A Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) 2002 Confiscation Hearing took place at Winchester Crown Court on 8 July this year, during which it was determined that Edwards alone had benefitted from his criminality to the tune of £2,884,995.99p.

A lengthy and detailed investigation carried out by Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary’s Financial Investigation Unit found that he currently had £45,801 worth of assets in his possession, made up of the following:

• £713.00 cash.
• £5,088.00 designer clothes, bags and shoes.
• £40,000.00 equity.

The court ordered that he pay all of this back within three months. If he does not pay the amount in full, a default sentence of two years in prison will be added consecutively to the current term of imprisonment he is serving.

Detective Superintendent Nick Plummer said: “The conspiracy led by Edwards in the east of the county was significant, sophisticated and operating at a very high level. The quantities of cash and drugs involved were staggering, with Edwards sourcing import grade cocaine from a major national supplier.

“Hampshire’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit worked diligently to tie all of the pieces of the puzzle together in order to identify the key players involved in this conspiracy, and ultimately bring them to justice.

“However, police efforts to cause disruption to this organised crime group did not stop there. A subsequent investigation led by Financial Investigator Linsey Haupt was commenced to identify the financial figure to which Edwards benefitted from his criminal enterprise, in order to confiscate any assets obtained through criminal activity.

“The personal gain to Edwards as a result of his criminality was huge, and it is pleasing to see that all of the assets that have currently been identified as being in his possession have been ordered for confiscation.

“We continue to relentlessly pursue organised criminals to remove the scourge of drugs from our streets, protect vulnerable or exploited people, and keep our communities safer.

“We will not stop, and I would urge anyone in our communities with information about drug dealing in their neighbourhood to report it to police so that we can build the bigger picture and take action against those responsible for making the lives of others a misery.”