Wigan borough drug dealer ordered to pay more than £100k criminal cash back in three months or face more jail time

In 2022, Damien Robinson, 54, of Pennine Grove, Leigh pleaded guilty possession of cannabis and possession of diazepam with intent to supply.

An investigation was launched after police noticed him driving in a dangerous and erratic manner on Cowper Street, Leigh. He was pulled over, and during a search of his vehicle, police recovered cannabis and a large quantity of cash.

Following his arrest, police searched his house, and seized more cannabis and diazepam. The total evaluation of the seized illicit items was £51,310.

Today (March 1) Robinson appeared at Bolton Crown Court where he was ordered to pay back £110,633.87.

The financial investigation uncovered that at the time of his arrest, Robinson was selling his house.

The money he made from this sale was transferred to a third party, in an attempt to hide this money from police.READ MORE: Wigan band The Lathums sell out intimate show in two seconds

Around £76,000 of the total he must pay back is from this.

If Robinson fails to pay the order within three months, he will face further time in jail.

Det Insp Pat Wood from GMP Wigan district said: “This latest order sends a strong message to criminals that even if your time in jail is coming to an end, we will use every power available to ensure you cannot come back out and continue with your lavish lifestyle that’s funded through crime.

“This highlights the importance of asset recovery and confiscation investigations which run alongside our criminal investigations. It enables us to maximise our opportunities to recover significant money which has derived from crime, at the expense of vulnerable people in our communities.

“A proportion of this will now be reinvested back into the communities of Greater Manchester viap our Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme (ARIS).”