Drug dealer who made £22K ordered to repay £720

A drug dealer who made more than £22,000 from selling Class A drugs in Skegness will only pay back £720, a court has heard.

Joel Tasker, 31, was jailed for 12 years in February after he admitted creating a drug-dealing operation known as the Scouse line, which ran from 1 April 2022 to 30 March 2023.

Despite Tasker making £221,572 from his criminal activity, a financial investigation after his conviction revealed he had available assets of just £720.

A proceeds of crime hearing at Lincoln Crown Court on Thursday heard he must sign the sum over to Lincolnshire Police within 28 days or he will face an extra day in prison.

The court previously heard heroin and crack-cocaine was advertised and supplied to users in the resort on "almost a daily basis.".

A prosecution drugs expert estimated there were transactions involving 844 grams of heroin and 591 grams of crack-cocaine.

Tasker, of no fixed address, had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and four further charges of possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply.

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