South Essex: More than £300,000 to be repaid by drug supply gang

A former organised crime group will now have to repay more than £300,000 of their criminal gains.

Sixty-one-year-old Jimmy Heary, formerly of Oak Road in Crays Hill, will have to pay back the vast majority of the sum, or faces spending three more years in prison in addition to his four-and-a-half-year sentence received in 2023.

He and others pleaded guilty to conspiring to supply cocaine across south Essex, and co-ordinated raids in February 2022 saw their drugs line dismantled and their cash and assets seized.

The group were running a supply line being masterminded by Connall Regan, now 31, who was serving another prison sentence at the time of the police warrants.

At just one address, cash concealed in plastic boxes were found hidden in concrete that, when smashed open, revealed almost £19,000. More than £82,000 in cash was seized from the gang in one day.

Among the group were the four most senior members of the drugs line:

• Jimmy Heary, now 61, was imprisoned for four years and six months for conspiring to supply cocaine;
• Connall Regan, now 31, received the biggest sentence of eight-and-a-half years in prison, pleading guilty to conspiring to supply cocaine and money laundering;
• Sheralee Heary, now 55, was jailed for a total of five years for conspiring to supply cocaine and money the unauthorised use of trademarks: selling counterfeit clothing and accessories;
• Nicholas Axford, now 39, of St Johns Crescent, Canvey Island was imprisoned for a total of six years for conspiring to supply cocaine and money laundering.

Now, following the conclusion of their Proceeds of Crime hearing at Basildon Crown Court on 16 January, they have received the following confiscation orders:

• Jimmy Heary was ordered to pay £294,283.78 within three months or serve a further three years in prison;
• Regan was ordered to pay £20,126.04 within three months or serve a further nine months in prison;
• Sheralee Heary was ordered to pay £9,553.51 within three months or serve a further six weeks in prison;
• Axford was ordered to pay £4,491.64 within three months or serve a further six weeks in prison.

They will still have to repay the sums if they do not meet the deadlines.

In total they are believed to have criminally benefitted to a total of more than £1.8m.

These confiscation orders allow officers to reclaim as much as possible from offenders to fund further work by the Home Office and Essex Police to tackle these offences, as well as supporting charitable causes through the Essex Community Foundation.

Financial Investigator Marie Hall said:

“This is the work we do to ensure criminals pay for the harm they’ve caused.
“Heary now has to sell the house, the cars and jewellery that was all financed by the supply of cocaine in Essex. The money we’ve seized will be used to pay the remainder of this, as well as any funds frozen in accounts since this operation began.
“The Proceeds of Crime Act was brought in for specifically these cases – to break the cycle of criminality that these funds could continue, to take drugs off our streets and bring down crime in our communities.”

What you know could be the missing puzzle piece we’re looking for.

We know that information held by our communities can help us to keep people safe and catch criminals.

We also know that our communities need to trust that we will listen to them and take action when we need to.

Our Police Intelligence page explains what happens when you tell us something you've seen or heard. It explains what to expect and what we need to know when you give us information. 

If you see or hear something that doesn’t seem right or causes you concern, we want you to tell us about it.

Are you worried that a friend or someone you know may be being exploited through County Lines or organised criminal activity?

Maybe they are returning home late, staying out all night or even going missing for days or weeks at a time.

Are they suddenly being secretive about who they are talking to or where they are going?

Or perhaps you’ve noticed they have large amounts of money on them, or new clothing, jewellery or phones they wouldn’t be able to afford.

Through Fearless, young people can pass on information 100% anonymously to get help.

If you need help from police, call 101 or, if it's an emergency, always call 999.