John Anslow drugs couple have £250,000 seized by police
A convicted killer and his wife who were part of drugs kingpin John Anslow's gang have had more than £250,000 of assets seized from them, it was revealed today.
David Harrison was at the centre of the confiscation claim, where it was decided that £625,361 of his assets were funded by crime.
Harrison, who is Anslow's uncle, is serving life in prison for murder of Richard Deakin in July 2010.
But police say he was also a key member of Anslow's network, and was jailed in 2012 for 12 years following a conviction for conspiracy to supply drugs.
The 35-year-old became Britain's most wanted man when he was violently and dramatically sprung from a prison van outside HMP Hewell near Redditch to Stafford Crown Court.
While still at large, Anslow, of St Mark's Road, Tipton, was found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis and sentenced to 22 years behind bars in September 2012.
A major police investigation into the drugs ring revealed Anslow was at its head and in charge of the operation.
While running the outfit, he lived a lavish lifestyle, splashing out on fast cars and luxury holidays.
His drug network stretched across the globe and he spent £36,000 sponsoring Wolves matches and players, splashed thousands of pounds in cash on far-flung holidays to the Caribbean and met high level criminal associates in Thailand.
As the net closed in on him, Anslow tried to trick officers into believing he was in Spain, but he was discovered lying low at a Bewdley caravan park and was arrested in August 2011.
While awaiting trial on the drugs charges, he was also charged with the murder of Richard Deakin.
He was being taken to a hearing in the murder case when he was broken out of the prison van in January 2012.
He was tried, found guilty and sentenced for the drugs offences in his absence.
Anslow remained at large for more than a year, before being arrested in Northern Cyprus and returned to the UK in March 2013.
He was later found guilty of escaping from custody, but acquitted of murder.
Harrison, 66, shot dead 27-year-old Mr Deakin with a sawn-off shotgun at the victim's home in Meadway Street, Chasetown.
He was sent down for 37 years after being found guilty of murder at Birmingham Crown Court in December 2012.
When originally sentenced, Harrison was told he would probably die in jail. He has consistently denied having anything to do with the killing.
Harrison and his wife will also lose the £26,765.00 in cash that was found in a safe at their house.
Det Insp Jonathan Jones, from the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit, said: "This is just a small part of what has been - and still is - a long and complex investigation into John Anslow and his gang, by a number of different law enforcement agencies.
"We have used Proceeds of Crime legislation to take the money back and ensure these people are never able to benefit from their criminality. We froze their finances at the time of arrest and started proceedings to recover assets amassed through serious organised crime.
"Confiscation and forfeiture orders strike right at the heart of the principal motivation for organised crime - money. We will constantly pursue these individuals as we continue to seek new opportunities to remove assets from offenders."
Harrison's wife, Julie Anslow, 61, was also given a confiscation order, after it was determined that she benefited to the tune of £100,000 by laundering her husband's cash, police said.
West Midlands Police said the pair would have to pay back £251,265 and stand to lose their marital home in Folkestone. That figure is less than the £625,000 total as he no longer has that much in the form of realisable assets.
