Crime boss who helped spring drugs kingpin John Anslow from prison ordered to pay back £1.3m

Former nightclub owner Stuart Reid, aged 54, helped mastermind Anslow's audacious escape, which triggered an 16-month international manhunt for the Tipton fugitive, who was once Britain's most wanted man.

At the time Anslow was accused of ordering the murder of Staffordshire businessman Richard Deakin, but was later found not guilty.

Reid, who is serving a total of 20 years for planning the escape, running a £5m drugs racket and a £127,000 mobile phone fraud, had benefitted to the tune of £3,075,915 from his criminal enterprises, Leicester Crown Court was told today.

Police found heroin, cannabis and amphetamine with a street value of £5.2m as part of a sophisticated drugs supply ring headed by Reid in Coventry after an undercover operation.

Judge Robert Brown today ordered Reid to pay £1,319,427 within three months or face an additional nine years in prison under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Lloyds account: £24,277.23

Property 1: £56,955

Property 2: £160,000

Property 3: £100,000

Property 4: £38,481

Property 5: £123,827

Property 6: £487,500

Property 7: 126,487

Proceeds of sale of Mercedes SL350: 3,857.20

Numberplate "50SR" £21,495

Mitsubishi pick up: £1,995

Cash from search: £2,185.16

Necklet set: £7,900

Cash on arrest: £314.34

Cash in prison account: £369.98

Numberplate "61JG": £20,994

Electrical items: £2,000

Barclaycards x2: £199.16

Chanel bag: £1,665

Hugo Boss clothing: £520.84

Rolex watch: 10,500

Rental income: £127,904.51

Mercedes £10,857.15

He said Reid had made attempts to 'hide' his wealth earned from ill-gotten gains, including a number of properties which were placed under the names of different people. His assets included a £20,000 personalised number plate, a Rolex watch, and designer clothing in addition to a number of properties in the Coventry area.

He said: "I take the view he is a career criminal who has committed a series of serious and high value crimes which include drugs, conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to escape.

"I have to fix a term of imprisonment if the sum is not paid. There will be nine years in prison in default and that term will be consecutively to the term he is currently serving."

Appearing from prison via video link, the defendant said he was 'disappointed'.

Reid, of Church Lane, Eastern Green, Coventry, helped Anslow's escape and sent a coded message on a Christmas card to him while he was behind bars on remand.

Three masked men armed with sledgehammers and a shotgun stopped the prison van Anslow was travelling in as he made his way from HMP Hewell near Redditch to Stafford Crown Court on January 23, 2012.

They smashed windows and forced the van driver out, punching him in the face, before ordering a female officer to open the door to Anslow's cell.

She did, and just seconds later he was gone, still wearing his distinctive yellow and blue prison clothes and in handcuffs, but sat in a car which careered through the streets of Redditch towards Birmingham travelling at speeds of up to 100mph.

He was not caught until April 2013 when he was found living in Alancak, Northern Cyprus.

He was deported to Heathrow where he was immediately arrested.

Reid, who denied conspiracy to escape, was behind the plot and in 2011 sent Anslow a coded Christmas card.

It read:?"Wishing you a very Merry Christmas filled with fun and surprises!"

But in actual fact the card contained a secret coded message which gave Anslow crucial details as to how he would escape. It was signed 'love from Stratford' and contained a numerical code which Reid suggested in the card was an insurance number. In fact the number was a mobile phone number, but written in code, in such a way that the code has never been cracked.

But Reid's involvement was proved when his handwriting was examined by experts who confirmed in court that it was his.

Reid wrote in the card:?"Haven't heard from you in a while, been quite difficult to contact you, remember our meeting in Stratford it was a funny day with your pal."

It added:?"I have left the agreement number for you, add one and we should sort out the insurance for you."

Anslow also had a phone inside prison which was crucial to his escape – even using it when he was in the prison van to let his associates know where in the convoy he was.

In September 2013, Reid was found guilty of conspiracy to escape and jailed for six years at Woolwich Crown Court.

The following year he was jailed for an additional 14 years for running a Coventry drugs racket and a further 18 months for the mobile phone fraud.

Inspector Jonathan Jones, from West Midlands Police's Regional Asset Recover Team (RART), said: "Throughout the course of three trials, Stuart Reid was exposed as one of the Midlands' biggest criminals.

"He masqueraded as a legitimate businessman when his real venture was masterminding a multi-million pounds drugs racket supplying heroin, cannabis and amphetamine across the country.

"Reid and his associates also came up with a fraud worth over a hundred thousand pounds which involved conning mobile phone companies out of cash.

"And his most audacious offence was helping bust John Anslow out of prison, sending him a coded message in Christmas card which was a key part of the plot.

"But we weren't prepared to let his 20 years behind bars be the end of the matter and have worked tirelessly over the last few years to strip him of the money he made through unlawful means.

"This success should serve as a warning to others that crime really doesn't pay. We will always pursue career criminals and take back their ill-gotten gains for the benefit of local people."

Anslow is serving a total of 29 years in prison - 22 for drug offences and seven years for conspiracy to escape.

He was convicted of the drug offences in his absence in 2012 while hiding in Northern Cyprus and jailed on his return to the country.

He was acquitted of ordering the 2010 murder of Walsall-based skip hire businessman Deakin after a trial in 2014.

Mr Deakin was shot at his home in Meadway Street in Chasetown, Burntwood, on July 5, 2010.

The 27-year-old father was gunned down just minutes after his fiancée Megan had left their home to take their young children to school.

Gunman David Harrison, then aged 63, and getaway car driver Darryl Dickens, then aged 34, both from Bilston, were found guilty of murder at Birmingham Crown Court. Harrison was told he will serve a minimum of 37 years. Dickens is to serve a minimum of 30 years.