VIJAY HAMID: Maldon drug kingpin's gang ordered to pay back more than £800,000

A MALDON crime gang has been ordered to pay back more than £800,000 in proceeds from drug supply.

Specialist officers who dismantled the organised crime group revealed they have now clawed back the money.

The multi-million-pound drugs ring – headed by ring-leader Abdul "Vijay" Hamid (above) and former girlfriend Danielle Stevenson-Roberts – has been ordered to pay back a total of £811,694.

Hamid, 35, was sentenced to 18 years in jail in April 2021 alongside his ex-partner Stevenson-Roberts (below), who received eight years in jail.

Their profits from selling Class A drugs in Essex were laundered through businesses which the pair ran in Maldon, including two Indian restaurants and a tanning salon.

They also used the money to buy land in Tenerife and high-end cars, including Mercedes saloons and a Rolls-Royce.

As a result of a proceeds of crime hearing heard at Chelmsford Crown Court, Hamid was ordered to pay back £775,011.07 while Stevenson-Roberts was ordered to pay £36,683.

Both face an additional seven-year sentence if they default on the payments.

It means when each of them leaves prison, they will own absolutely nothing.

Hamid, 34, formerly of Sassoon Way, Maldon, is serving an 18-year sentence.

Stevenson-Roberts, 36, formerly of Church Street, Goldhanger, was jailed for eight years.

As part of the investigation, officers suspected Hamid and Stevenson-Roberts were smuggling cash in their luggage during frequent trips to Tenerife.

As a result, they were detained by Border Force officials at Stansted Airport on 18 August 2019 and were found to have £29,000 in their luggage.

The cash (below) was seized.

The following day, Hamid failed to stop for police in The Street, Latchingdon, crashing into two cars in an attempt to evade police and mounted a pavement where pedestrians were walking. He was stopped, arrested and charged with a string of driving offences.

Following an extensive investigation, Hamid and Stevenson-Roberts were again arrested in February 2020.

Both were charged and convicted on conspiracy to supply cocaine and concealing criminal property.

The proceeds of crime hearing was held at Chelmsford Crown Court on June 15.

Detective Inspector Frazer Low, of our serious and organised crime unit, said: “This organised crime group had already been completely dismantled but now their funding to carry on any criminality has been removed.

“We know that being sentenced to substantial prison sentences is a risk these people know they are taking but digging into their finances, identifying their criminal gain and then going after that gain hits them even harder.

“The message this sends is clear; we will pursue you if you are involved in organised crime in Essex and we will not stop once you are in prison.”