A Carlisle crook jailed for orchestrating a cocaine supply plot from his prison cell has been stripped of ill-gotten gains — which comprise expensive fishing gear.
Stephen Dixon, now 36, used an illegally-held phone and had a concealed cavity within his custody living space as he headed up a conspiracy for organised distribution of the class A drug.
Dixon was assisted by business partner and man on the outside Dylan Schwencke, 26, who peddled massive amounts of the illicit substance during a criminal enterprise which spanned several weeks around the turn of 2020.
Schwencke recruited others to act as couriers and warehouse the cocaine with a mother and son among those drawn in.
There was also an attempt to throw contraband items including iPhones, tobacco, alcohol, drugs and alcohol into prison over a perimeter wall.
But after the packages were intercepted by prison officers and police smashed the supply plot, gang members were jailed in May last year.
Dixon, of Blackwell Road, was locked up for eight years eight months, and Schwencke, of Warnell Drive, Carlisle, for 10-and-a-half years.
Investigators set about trawling through the defendants’ finances in order to claw back criminally obtained assets.
At Carlisle Crown Court today, a judge made confiscation orders in respect of both Dixon and Schwencke.
Dixon’s agreed benefit figure was assessed as £170,340 and his available assets set at £9,277.
“That sum reflects the value of high value fishing equipment that was seized,” said prosecutor Joe Allman.
The court heard Schwencke had benefited from illegal activity to the tune of £136,193, and had available assets of £1,700 — cash seized on his arrest.
Judge Nicholas Barker also ruled that the pair should be the subject of tough conditions within serious crime prevention orders (SCPO) aimed at protecting the public.
These will run for five years and impose both obligations and restrictions upon Dixon and Schwencke.
They limit the number of phones that can be held, require both men to notify police about the ownership or use of vehicles.
In addition, they are banned from possessing more than £1,000 cash unless there is prior notification; must submit reports on their finances within 14 days of any request; and notify any changes of circumstances.
“This was managed by Stephen Dixon from his prison cell,” Judge Nicholas Barker said of the conspiracy, “and therefore shows not just a determination but a capability and a capacity to manage a serious criminal enterprise in a restricted environment, such as prison.
“I am satisfied SCPOs are necessary to prevent, restrict or disrupt his and Dylan Schwencke’s involvement in serious crime.”
