Police arrested three people on 22 December 2003 on suspicion of selling almost half a million pounds worth of cannabis through password-protected websites.[1] Officers from Hertfordshire Constabulary and Sussex Police, coordinated by the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit, raided three addresses that morning and seized drug-dealing evidence and four computers.[1] The suspects were a 37-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman from Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire, and a 35-year-old man from Brighton, and their bank accounts were frozen.[1] Customers with logins placed orders on the sites and received the drugs by post.[1]
Sentences
The investigation had begun in 2002 after banks flagged unusual transfers of large sums, and the three forces together arrested and secured convictions against five people.[2] Hove Crown Court sentenced Sean Jackson, 37, to five years for cannabis supply and two years for concealing criminal proceeds.[2] Mark Harris, 41, received three and a half years for supply and twelve months for concealing proceeds, while Dominic Bolongaro, 32, received eighteen months for the same offences.[2] Lisa Wilkinson, 35, and David Harris, 40, each received 200 hours of community service for concealing proceeds.[2]
Jackson sold to hundreds of people through sites including Budmonkey.com and Keepit2urself.com, making hundreds of pounds a day, and kept envelopes, address labels and a heat-sealing machine for dispatching the drugs.[2] The court ordered Jackson to repay £112,000 within six months under proceeds-of-crime rules.[2] Police described the case as the first of its kind in the country.[1][2]
