Payback time for Valentine's Day drugs florist caught at Hull docks
A FLORIST who smuggled £23.5m-worth of drugs into the city hidden in Valentine's Day flowers may have to pay back £900,000 from his criminal activities.
Businessman Gary Pattison was jailed for 18 years after he hid the packages of drugs in three boxes of flowers covered with yellow chrysanthemums.
Pattison, whose three businesses generated £2m income, turned to smuggling out of greed to fund his lavish lifestyle.
Now, under the Proceeds of Crime Act, Pattison, of Ferry Lane, Woodmansey, is being brought back to court to have all the money he made from his criminal conduct taken off him.
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The prosecution estimate he has benefited from his criminality by £900,000.
Prosecutor James Fletcher told Hull Crown Court that Pattison has been sent a letter asking him to repay £900,000 and he has now been given time to respond.
If he can prove he legitimately earned the money then he will not have to repay it.
His barrister Richard Fisher said: "His free property exceeds the £900,000 figure and he has an estimated £1.1m available. The benefit figure has not yet been responded to by the defendant."
A hearing date will be set later in the year for the sides to come to an agreement.
The prosecution has also applied to the court to order a receiver to manage Pattison's businesses until the final hearing. Presently, his family are running the businesses.
Judge Jeremy Richardson QC has adjourned making a decision until he has been given more details.
Pattison had used his haulage business, called Sharron Pattison Logistics, to smuggle the drugs into Hull docks hidden among his flower delivery for his florist shop, also called Sharron Pattison, formerly at the North Point Shopping Centre, in Bransholme.
A jury of ten men and two women at Sheffield Crown Court took just three hours to find him unanimously guilty of drug smuggling.
Recorder Martin Simpson jailed him for 18 years and told Pattison said he must have been trusted by the drug dealers.
He said: "From the drugs that you were involved with and the purity, I draw the inescapable conclusion you were well trusted by those even higher up the scale of this illegal operation and that you were using your own business and were not merely a lorry driver, but you were the owner.
"It is impossible to concede those involved, even bigger criminals, trusting someone with whom they didn't have a sufficient relationship with to rely upon them with millions of pounds of drugs.
"A courier you may have been, but a courier at the top of the trade and who must have been trusted."
24 Comments
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by louisebruno15
Wednesday, March 27 2013, 11:57AM
“he knew the crime and the time so now he is paying for it, his wife must be turning in her grave poor women to think she built that buisness from scratch and he gave it a bad name, they should take his house ,cars everything form him, its a gamble he took from drugs and now he,s lost. The gov make money from drug dealers as they pocket all the money, there worst than the criminals themselves, they should at least put the money to good use.”
by jackboo2011
Friday, March 15 2013, 10:22PM
“they should bankrupt him take the lot”
by Hunnyb_2252
Friday, March 15 2013, 5:11PM
“I don't condone smuggling or anything to do with drugs but this man was just stupid and greedy. As for the judgement, he didn't pay tax on the drugs did he? Anything to do with Custom & Excise is part of the government, and according to them, he's taking money off them and begrudging them a nice cushy lifestyle, so, it's a hanging offence. Yet, if Mr Pattison had smashed someone's face in and hospitalised them, it's a different story, it doesn't concern the government so he would just get a slap on the wrist and told not to do it again.”
by ferretmonger
Thursday, March 14 2013, 8:42PM
“While i welcome this drug dealer being sent down for a long time, i cant help feeling that some of the sc*m that have been in the hdm recently, i'm thinkling of the bank robber, the axe robbers, and the other violent sc*m, seem to have got much lighter sentences than Mr pattison! I dont get it, surely the sc*m mentioned above should have got sentence's for the same length of time.”
by adolfo
Thursday, March 14 2013, 8:25PM
“Ramona .....Are all drug users happy then, and their families,.... and there is nothing negative comes out of using drugs and the effect this has on families!!.....”
by adolfo
Thursday, March 14 2013, 8:21PM
“Ramona, the dreamer!
I hear the mission bells above
Ramona,
They're ringing out our song of love........Tweet tweet tweet
I press you caress you
And bless the day you taught me to care
I'll always remember the rambling rose
You wore in your hair.
Ramona,
When day is done you'll hear my call
Ramona,
We'll meet beside the waterfall..............gee this baccy is B.u. tiful!!!”
by adolfo
Thursday, March 14 2013, 8:20PM
“Ramona, the dreamer!
I hear the mission bells above
Ramona,
They're ringing out our song of love........Tweet tweet tweet
I press you caress you
And bless the day you taught me to care
I'll always remember the rambling rose
You wore in your hair.
Ramona,
When day is done you'll hear my call
Ramona,
We'll meet beside the waterfall..............gee this baccy is B.u. tiful!!!”
by debsie2011
Thursday, March 14 2013, 7:37PM
“he has dragged his dead wifes good name through the mud, she built that flower business when she was alive, shame on you gary pattison u deserve to rot in that hellhole!”
by dannydarko222
Thursday, March 14 2013, 6:15PM
“should have kept a lower profile...”
by Eeebahgum
Thursday, March 14 2013, 4:10PM
“Wondered what them little packets attached to the stems were.”