Semley drug dealer who made £50k illegally must pay back £9k

Maria Suzanne Parnell, 55, of Semley in Wiltshire, was sentenced to 42 months in prison in 2022 after pleading guilty to three counts of possession with intent to supply class A drugs and another count of the same offence involving class B drugs.

Parnell returned to court on Monday, February 5, for a hearing to consider an application under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA).

Bournemouth Crown Court. (Image: Newsquest)

At around 4.25pm on Wednesday, July 31, 2019, police officers stopped a vehicle in Blackmore Road in Shaftesbury.

Following a search of Parnell's car and handbag, a substantial amount of drugs and cash was located.

She was the driver and sole occupant of the vehicle and was subsequently arrested and charged.

The total amount of cash seized was £850 and the estimated value of the drugs seized was around £12,700.

Maria Suzanne Parnell. (Image: Dorset Police)

During the POCA proceedings, the court ruled that the total benefit figure from Parnell’s offending amounted to £53,309.90. The court also ruled that the total available amount was £9,537.66.

She was given three months to pay the available amount, or she will face an additional prison sentence of six months.

Detective Constable Scott Brimicombe, of the Economic Crime Unit, said: “I hope this case demonstrates that we will use POCA legislation where it is available to take illegal earnings from criminals.

“As with all Proceeds of Crime confiscation orders, the outstanding benefit figure is still owed and the case will be reviewed in the future to ascertain if the defendant has acquired further assets.”