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A fugitive drugs boss who was caught by police in Marbella after two years on the run has been ordered to hand over more than £40,000. And if he doesn't pay up within six months, he'll face nine more months on a prison sentence he is already serving, police said. Dean Garforth, 32, was arrested on the Costa del Sol in October, 2022, riding an e-bike and wearing sports clothes, sunglasses and a cap. He was subsequently extradited from Spain to the UK in March, 2023, then charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine, conspiracy to supply cannabis, and conspiracy to supply weapons and ammunition. He was jailed for 19 years and six months at a court hearing in January last year. Garforth, whose last known address was Regency Park, Widnes, Cheshire, used the EncroChat communications network to discuss with other criminals the supply of substantial amounts of drugs across the north west, said police. Encrypted data was analysed by detectives from Cheshire Police's Serious and Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) from March 2020 to July 2020, after the network was cracked by international law enforcement. A warrant was executed at Garforth's home, but he had fled the country to Spain. A two year-long investigation followed, before he was arrested in the pre-planned swoop in Nueva Andalucia, Marbella. In a statement, Cheshire Police said: "Following his sentencing, financial investigators at Cheshire Police embarked on an extensive confiscation investigation into the lifestyle of Garforth. "Through this thorough and extensive investigation, police were able to show that Garforth had benefited by around £1,530,000 from his criminal lifestyle. Of the money gained officers were able to prove that he was still in possession of £40,331.00 worth of assets. "These included 50 per cent of the equity in his home and the value of his KTM off road motorcycle. Following the investigation, Garforth was called back to Chester Crown Court on Tuesday 11 February where he was ordered to pay this sum back." Detective Chief Inspector Nick Henderson, of the Serious and Organised Crime Unit, said: "The confiscation order in this case sends a strong message that Cheshire Constabulary takes the recovery of the Proceeds of Crime seriously. It highlights the importance of asset recovery considerations, running throughout an investigation to maximise the opportunities to recover significant sums, derived from criminality. "The financial investigator in this case worked tirelessly to accomplish this result through a tenacious and diligent approach to the investigation, leaving no stone unturned in pursuit of asset recovery."
