Two men seen exchanging a gun in Margate have been ordered to hand over more than £60,000 of criminal assets.
Lee Walker, 37, and Alex Vassallo, 30, were seen acting suspiciously in Milton Avenue on Saturday 18 June 2022.
They were both stopped and arrested and police searched a rucksack they had been seen to exchange. It was found to contain a 8mm Bruni pistol and cocaine with a street value of up to £20,000.
Both men were arrested and later charged with possession of a firearm and possession of cocaine with intent to supply.
They admitted both offences at Canterbury Crown Court and, in February 2023, Walker, formerly of West Cliff Road, Ramsgate, received a five-year, seven-month sentence. Vassallo, formerly of Gladstone Road, Broadstairs, was jailed for five years and three months.
After they were sentenced, Kent Police made an application to the court for a confiscation order, using powers contained within the Proceeds of Crime Act.
The act enables police to take back money and assets which offenders have gained from crime and can be used again if the offenders come into further assets.
Following an application to a court on Friday 13 September, a judge ordered that Walker pay £56,000 of assets deemed to have been made through criminal means.
The ruling came after Vassalo was ordered to pay £4,900 at a previous hearing. Both men were given three months to pay the money or face a longer prison sentence.
Kent Police’s Detective Inspector David Godfrey said: “We will take every step open to us to remove criminal cash from circulation and ensure that crime doesn’t pay.
“Our investigations showed that these two men had clearly profited from illegitimate means and recovering this money will help keep Kent a safer place.”
