County lines boss who made £750,000 will have designer clothes sold
County lines boss who made £750,000 running narcotics empire and financed his girlfriend’s ‘fearless’ spending habits will have £40,000 of his designer clothes sold off to pay back some of his ill-gotten gains
- Armed robber Jonathan Walsh, 34, made £750,000 running a narcotics empire
- He will have his £40,000 designer clothes sold to pay back some of his gains
- County lines empire financed girlfriend Jodie Bowie’s ‘fearless’ spending habit
A county lines boss who made £750,000 running a narcotics empire and financed his girlfriend’s ‘fearless’ spending habits will have his £40,000 designer clothes sold off to pay back some of his ill-gotten gains.
Jonathan Walsh, 34, benefited from crime to the tune of almost three quarters of a million pounds peddling cannabis and amphetamine from Greater Manchester to Nottinghamshire.
Walsh’s girlfriend Jodie Bowie, 32, was also involved in the drugs plot and similarly enjoyed a luxury lifestyle.
The ‘sophisticated’ empire funded designer clothes, expensive jewellery, high-powered cars and cosmetic surgery appointments.
Convicted armed robber Walsh was jailed for 15 years, while Bowie avoided jail.
Jodie Bowie (pictured with Jonathan Walsh) had ‘fearless’ designer spending habits
Jodie Bowie, 32, enjoyed a luxury lifestyle with the ‘sophisticated’ drugs empire funding designer clothes, expensive jewellery and high-powered cars
Pictured: Jonathan Walsh
Under Proceeds of Crime laws, Walsh will have to pay back more than £40,000, representing the value of items seized by police including designer clothes worth about £38,000 and a van worth £2,000.
He benefited from crime to the tune of £738,750, a hearing at Manchester Crown Court heard.
Walsh has £41,010 worth of available funds — the value of designer clothes and a Citroen Berlingo van. The clothes and van are now set to be sold off by police.
Bowie, who worked as a carer for the elderly, is also set to face proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Her case was adjourned until next month.
The couple met on Facebook after he served a 14 year prison sentence for armed robbery, with Bowie becoming involved in Walsh’s drugs scheme.
Jonathan Walsh (pictured with Jodie Bowie) financed their luxury lifestyle by shifting £1.36m worth of cannabis – plus amphetamine worth £130,000 – across Britain in a county lines trafficking operation
When Bowie’s home was raided by police, officers discovered more than £100,000 worth of designer clothes as well as £10,000 in cash
When one of Walsh’s couriers was arrested, Bowie enlisted her mother, father and brother to help with moving the cash generated by the racket.
When Bowie’s home was raided by police, officers discovered more than £100,000 worth of designer clothes as well as £10,000 in cash.
Another visit by police recovered clothing valued at £27,000, another £5,410 in cash, while messages on her phone showed her making arrangements with Walsh to spend around £5,000 on cosmetic surgery.
Bowie, of Medlock Road, Failsworth, Manchester, is also set to face proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act
Police discovered Bowie recruited her parents Janice (left), 53, and David (right), 52, and older brother Lee, 34, to help with moving the cash generated by the drugs racket. Janice, who denied wrongdoing, was sentenced to 12 months custody suspended for 18 months
At a previous hearing, prosecutor Tom Challinor said of the couple’s initial weeks together: ‘Over a very short period of time Walsh began to accrue possessions of a lavish lifestyle, including Rolex watches, designer clothing, and driving expensive cars at £1,300 a month.
‘They decked out their house in lavish decor which indicated that sort of lifestyle.
‘Jodie Bowie worked at the time but was not on the sort of income which could have supported that lifestyle. When it came to spending money, she was fearless.’
Walsh, of Warwick Road, Failsworth, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply drugs and money laundering and was later found guilty of conspiracy to possess a firearm, conspiracy to possess ammunition and conspiracy to possess an explosive device after trial at Manchester Crown Court in September last year.
Bowie, of Medlock Road, Failsworth, Manchester received 21 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, a three month curfew between 7pm and 5.30am, 140 hours unpaid work and ten rehabilitation activity requirement days, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply class B cannabis and money laundering.
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