Dinnington Drug lord James Flinders ordered to pay £480,000

James Flinders (51), formerly of Park Avenue in Dinnington, was sentenced to 23 years in prison in May 2012 after being convicted of conspiracy to supply class A, B and C drugs, various money laundering offences and perverting the course of justice.

Following his sentence, financial investigators from South Yorkshire Police’s Financial Crime Investigation Unit investigated how Flinders had benefited from the multi-million pound drugs operation in South Yorkshire and North Nottinghamshire.

Over two days last week (June 11-12), Sheffield Crown Court heard that Flinders had benefited by an amount totalling £589,482.81.

A confiscation order was made under the Proceeds of Crime Act for £479,506.81 and Flinders has been ordered to pay the amount within six months, or face a further three and a half year prison sentence.

Det Sgt Adrian Ward said: “Flinders was a career criminal who believed he was above the law.

“Our enquiries revealed that since 2006, Flinders had established a property portfolio valued in excess of a million pounds, including a large property in Dinnington, all funded through his drugs operation.

“The confiscation order imposed is a fantastic result and will strip Flinders of all the assets he gained through his criminality.

“I want to thank everyone who has been involved in securing the order, particularly the two financial investigators who have worked tirelessly to achieve this result.

“This case is a credit to them and highlights the teamwork and the commitment within the Financial Crime Investigation Unit.

“Our dedication to protecting and supporting the wider community and reducing the risk that drugs pose will continue, to amply demonstrate that crime does not and will not pay.”