Gangland ringleader Tony Trott made more than £200,000 through organised crime - but how much must he pay back?

A gangland ringleader made more than £200,000 through organised crime but has to pay back just over £9,000.
Tony TrottTony Trott
Tony Trott

Tony Trott is serving a 26-year sentence after he orchestrated an early-morning shooting at an occupied house and ran a lucrative business supplying cocaine and amphetamine across Sunderland and Hartlepool.

The 30-year-old appeared at Newcastle Crown Court this morning, via video link to HMP Garth, after prosecutors pursued him under the Proceeds of Crime Act to seize any assets he has.

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Prosecutor Deborah Smithies told the court: "The benefit figured agreed between the parties is £203,270 and the available amount is £9,410 and that sum represents cash that was seized from the defendant and is already held by the police."

Tony Trott organised a shooting on a house in Craigshaw Square, Sunderland.Tony Trott organised a shooting on a house in Craigshaw Square, Sunderland.
Tony Trott organised a shooting on a house in Craigshaw Square, Sunderland.

Judge Robert Adams made the order under the requested terms and said Trott faces further time behind bars if the money is not paid.

Judge Adams told him: "It must be paid within 28 days. There will be a six month custodial term in default of payment, although that is largely academic as the money is already seized."

The judge also ordered the destruction of drugs, including more than two kilos of cocaine and over, 16 kilos of amphetamine and mobile phones that had been seized by police during the investigation.

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Trott had organised the early-morning shooting carried out on Craigshaw Square in Sunderland on September 12, 2016, which was believed to have been occupied by members of a rival gang.

Police had monitored Trott and his gang's criminal activity for months and observed drug and cash handovers throughout 2016.

In November last year Trott, of South Terrace, Sunderland, was jailed for 26 years with an extended four years on licence for possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life, possession of a prohibited weapon and conspiracy to supply cocaine.