Wirral drugs baron and wife stripped of ill-gotten gains

Aug 5 2009 by Chloe Griffiths, Bromborough and Bebington News

A DRUGS baron and his glamorous wife who blew more than £4m on a “vulgar” champagne lifestyle were ordered to pay back their ill-gotten gains.

University-educated drug trafficker Keith Shea, 36, was jailed for 15 years after he was caught red-handed in a lock-up surrounded by cocaine, ecstasy and deadly weapons.

His former beautician wife Sara Shea was later put behind bars for two-and-a-half years for helping him launder his dirty cash.

But the Wallasey couple, who enjoyed a lavish lifestyle, were back before the courts last week to be stripped of the proceeds.

Liverpool Crown Court heard the couple benefited from their criminal activities to the tune of £4,089,545 over six years.

It is believed Keith Shea spent about £2m buying extremely pure drugs to dilute and repackage ready for sale on the streets.

But the couple blew the rest of their loot on a lavish, jetset lifestyle, spending thousands on luxury holidays, designer clothes and expensive jewellery.

The couple married in a lavish Barbados beach ceremony and when police raided their home in Broadway Avenue, Wallasey, they discovered £12,000 worth of handbags and his-and-hers Chopard watches worth £100,000.

But following months of inquiries, investigators assessed Keith Shea now has just £150,745 in “realisable assets”.

Judge David Harris QC ordered Shea to pay back the cash in the next nine months or face a further three years behind bars.

Graham Pickavance, prosecuting, told the court Keith Shea had taken responsibility for many of the couple’s joint belongings.

He said it was agreed Sara Shea’s realisable assets were now reduced to just £6,985.

Sara Shea was ordered to pay back the money in the next nine months or face a further six months in jail.

Last week Merseyside police said they would chase the couple for the rest of their lives for the cash.

Detective Constable Elaine Moore said: “It is a debt for life. It will never go away – we can keep going until that figure is paid.”