THE mastermind behind a drugs ring who used his ill-gotten cash to build a property empire has been ordered to pay £1million.

Neil Wadley, formerly of Pound lane, Upton near Didcot, was the kingpin in a gang which supplied drugs across the South of England.

The 49-year-old has been given a confiscation order of £1 million at Oxford Crown Court last Friday.

He has beenordered to pay £1 million within three months, and will serve  sentence of 14 years behind bars if the order is not paid.

If Wadley fails to pay up, he the sentence will be on top of 17 years the professional criminal is currently serving.

Wadley was the violent leader of a criminal gang centred around the Didcot area that sold cocaine, cannabis, amphetamines and the party drug MDMA.

He and nine other gang members have been jailed for almost 92 years in January 2016 for their parts in the multiple drug-dealing conspiracies, selling to people in Swindon, Oxford, Reading and Didcot.

Police launched Operation Samba to monitor Wadley and his gang after 2kg of 97 per cent pure cocaine was seized from an address in Reading in 2014.

After police raided the addresses of his employees in 2015 Wadley fled to Malaga in Spain, but was later arrested and returned to the UK to face justice.

Police said Wadley had used the cash to build up a property portfolio in Oxfordshire including Pound Lane and Kibble Close in Didcot.

Officers seized around 9kg of cocaine, 1kg of MDMA powder, nearly 5,000 MDMA tablets, 4kg of amphetamine powder, 3kg of methoxetamine and 18kg of cannabis resin with a combined street value of around £1.3 million.

Drugs were bought from other crime groups in Spain, Liverpool, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, London, Reading and Southend-on-Sea then stored in Didcot, Newbury, Reading and Hemel Hempstead.

Wadley's sentencing in January 2016 triggered confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

At the confiscation hearing, Wadley was adjudged that he had benefitted from his criminal activity and a confiscation order was imposed.

The Crown Prosecution Service applied for and were granted a Serious Crime Prevention Order, against Wadley placing restrictions when he is released on his communication devices, possession of cash, bank accounts, association and travel, which will be monitored for five years.

As part of the financial investigations the Crown Prosecution Service and police have managed to further secure confiscation orders against some of the others convicted in the conspiracy including £57,078.44 from Arthur DeSousa, 49, of Dee Road, Tilehurst, Reading, on May 15 2017 and £8,515 on September 8 2016 from Vasil Rica, 37, of Southchurch Avenue, Southend-On-Sea, Essex.

Detective Inspector Gavin Tyrrell: "This substantial confiscation order demonstrates that after conviction, Thames Valley Police and the Crown Prosecution Service will seek to ensure that defendants will not benefit from their criminal activities.

"The defendant had clearly benefited as a result of his ‘criminal lifestyle’, during this conspiracy to supply controlled drugs. 

"The Proceeds of Crime Act enables us to deprive criminals of what has been obtained from their crimes on top of any sentences imposed by the courts.

“This another great success for our Stronghold campaign which tackles organised crime in the Thames Valley. Cash is the lifeblood of crime and cutting off supply not only removes the profits from crime but also stop the reinvestment into criminal enterprises."