Court Seizes Criminal Gains From Kinmel Bay Cocaine Dealer, Wales 2026

Key Points

• Kinmel Bay man sentenced for drugs offences Gareth Hastie has had £5,100 confiscated and forfeited in a hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
• The 45-year-old man, with no fixed address, is currently serving a jail term of six years and four months.
• Hastie received a jail sentence in February 2026 after pleading guilty to two charges of possession of cocaine with intent to supply.
• Almost half a kilogram of cocaine was found by police during the searches at two locations in the Rhyl area.
• It was reported that the estimated street value of the seized cocaine was about £28,000 to £40,000.
• According to North Wales Police, the value of the criminal gains made by Hastie exceeded £94,000.
• The containers holding cocaine and white block, rock and powder materials have been ordered to be destroyed.
• Under Section 27 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, three sets of scales and a mobile phone have been ordered to be destroyed.
• The confiscation and forfeiture hearing has taken place at Mold Crown Court under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Wales Crime (Wales Times) August 7, 2026 – Gareth Hastie, a 45-year-old man who was jailed for supplying cocaine, has had £5,100 in seized funds ordered to be forfeited at Mold Crown Court. The money was recovered during a police investigation into his criminal activity, while drugs-related equipment and substances seized during the same investigation were ordered to be destroyed.

Hastie is currently serving a six-year-and-four-month prison sentence after being sentenced in February 2026 for two offences of possessing cocaine with intent to supply. The latest court action targets the financial benefit connected with the offences and follows the seizure of cash during police searches at two addresses in the Rhyl area.

North uk/police/">Wales Police announced the forfeiture in a force statement concerning the case. The statement said that a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing at Mold Crown Court heard that funds amounting to £5,100 had been seized by officers investigating Hastie’s crimes and that the money was ordered to be forfeited.

What did the court order?

The court ordered the forfeiture of £5,100 in funds seized during the investigation. Forfeiture means that the money is surrendered following the court’s decision rather than being returned to the person from whom it was seized.

The police statement did not describe the money as a separate fine or give a detailed breakdown of the specific notes or denominations recovered. It identified the funds as money seized by officers investigating Hastie’s drug offences and said the court had ordered them to be forfeited.

The case was dealt with through a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing. Under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, a confiscation order can require a convicted person to pay an amount representing the benefit obtained from criminal conduct. The legislation also provides for the forfeiture of cash where a court is satisfied that it represents the proceeds of unlawful conduct or was intended for use in unlawful conduct.

In this case, the £5,100 forfeited represents only the amount identified by police as having been seized and successfully dealt with at the hearing. North Wales Police separately estimated that the full value of Hastie’s criminal gains was more than £94,000. The available information does not state that the entire estimated amount had been recovered.

What offences led to the prison sentence?

Hastie admitted two counts of possessing cocaine with intent to supply. He was sentenced to six years and four months in prison in February 2026 and is currently serving that sentence.

The offences followed the execution of warrants at two separate addresses in the Rhyl area as part of an investigation into the supply of Class A drugs. Police recovered almost half a kilogram of cocaine during the searches.

According to the Daily Post, the cocaine had an estimated street value of between £28,000 and £40,000. The newspaper reported that the searches took place at addresses linked to the investigation into cocaine supply.

The Rhyl Journal separately reported that police recovered cash and cocaine from locations associated with Hastie. Its account said officers found £300 in a coffee pot in a kitchen, while a plastic container held cocaine estimated to be worth up to £14,000. The report also said a police dog found a further quantity of cocaine, valued at up to £500, in a plastic pot.

The Rhyl Journal reported that officers also searched a unit at Whites Self Storage in Rhyl that was attributed to Hastie. According to the newspaper, police found a green fishing tub containing cocaine estimated to be worth up to £23,113.

The report added that almost half a kilogram of cocaine was seized in total and that £4,800 in cash was taken from a coat pocket in a wardrobe. Those details provide additional context for the financial investigation, although the police’s latest statement focused on the £5,100 ordered to be forfeited at the Proceeds of Crime Act hearing.

What else was seized and destroyed?

Alongside the cash, police seized containers containing cocaine and white block, rock and powder substances. The force said these items were ordered to be destroyed under Section 27 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

Three sets of scales were also ordered to be destroyed. Scales can be relevant in drug-supply investigations because they may be used to weigh substances, although the available police statement did not say how each item was used or whether any particular set was relied upon as evidence.

A mobile phone recovered during the investigation was included in the destruction order. The force did not publish details of the phone’s contents or disclose whether it contained messages, contact information or other material connected with the alleged supply activity.

The destruction order does not represent an additional prison sentence. It concerns physical items recovered during the investigation after the criminal proceedings and related court process. The police statement linked the order to Section 27 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

What did police say about the case?

Detective Inspector Kris Williams of North Wales Police’s Central Priority Crime Team said the seizure of almost half a kilogram of cocaine represented a significant disruption to the supply chain. His comments were reported by the Daily Post after Hastie’s sentencing in February.

Williams said drug dealing brought “exploitation, violence and misery” to neighbourhoods. He added that officers would pursue people seeking to profit from such criminality and use the available powers to remove assets acquired as a result of their activities.

The statement reflects the two strands of the investigation: the criminal case leading to Hastie’s imprisonment and the subsequent financial action aimed at recovering money associated with the offences. The latest hearing therefore dealt with the proceeds of crime rather than a new allegation of drug possession.

North Wales Police’s announcement did not state whether further confiscation proceedings relating to the estimated £94,000 benefit would follow. It also did not give details of any other assets belonging to Hastie that might be subject to investigation or recovery.

How does the financial investigation fit the case?

Financial investigations are commonly used alongside serious drug-supply cases to examine whether a convicted person benefited from criminal conduct. The Crown Prosecution Service says a confiscation order may be sought where a defendant has obtained a benefit from criminal conduct and has the means to pay an order.

The legal process distinguishes between the value of a person’s benefit from crime and the amount that can actually be recovered from available assets. The legislation explains that a confiscation order requires a convicted person to pay a sum representing the benefit obtained from criminal conduct.

In Hastie’s case, North Wales Police estimated the benefit from his crimes at more than £94,000, while the court ordered £5,100 to be forfeited at the reported hearing. The two figures should not be treated as identical: one is the force’s estimate of the wider criminal gain, and the other is the amount of seized funds dealt with by the court.

The reported outcome also shows that the financial element can continue after sentencing. Hastie’s prison term was imposed in February, but officers later brought the seized funds before the court through a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing.

How could the development affect local communities?

The immediate effect for local residents is that £5,100 identified by police as connected with the investigation will no longer remain available to Hastie. The destruction order also removes the seized drugs, scales, containers and phone from circulation, subject to the conclusion of any evidential requirements.

For communities in Kinmel Bay, Rhyl and surrounding parts of Denbighshire, the case demonstrates that a prosecution can be followed by action against money and property linked to drug offending. North Wales Police has said it intends to use financial powers to strip criminals of assets acquired through criminality.

The case does not, by itself, establish that drug supply in the area has ended or quantify any broader change in local crime levels. It records one conviction, one forfeiture of seized funds and the destruction of specified items. Any wider effect would depend on future enforcement activity, further investigations and the availability of evidence in other cases.

What is the background to the development?

The development follows the prosecution of Gareth Hastie after police executed warrants at two addresses in the Rhyl area during an investigation into Class A drug supply. Officers recovered almost half a kilogram of cocaine, and the Daily Post reported an estimated street value of between £28,000 and £40,000.

The Rhyl Journal reported additional seizures of cash, cocaine, scales and other material from a kitchen, a wardrobe and a storage unit at Whites Self Storage in Rhyl. The newspaper said the combined value of the cocaine recovered from the reported locations contributed to the force’s estimate that Hastie had gained more than £94,000 from his criminality.

Hastie pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing cocaine with intent to supply and was jailed for six years and four months in February 2026. The subsequent Mold Crown Court hearing dealt with the £5,100 seized during the investigation, while the court also ordered the destruction of the specified drugs-related items under Section 27 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

What could happen next for the affected audience?

For local residents, the most likely short-term effect is increased visibility of enforcement against both drug supply and its proceeds. The case may be cited by North Wales Police when explaining the use of Proceeds of Crime Act powers, but the available reports do not announce a new operation, additional arrests or a change to policing levels in Kinmel Bay or Rhyl.

For people following the case, the key unresolved issue is whether the estimated value of more than £94,000 will lead to further recovery proceedings. North Wales Police has not, in the available statement, confirmed that the full estimate has been converted into a court order or that additional assets will be seized.

For law-enforcement agencies, the case reinforces the use of financial investigations after a drug conviction. The outcome is likely to support continued examination of cash, property and other assets where investigators believe they may have been acquired through criminal conduct, although each case must be assessed through its own evidence and court process.