James Close, a drug-dealing gangster who helped source an AK-47 assault rifle, made more than £1.5m from his criminal activities but will only have to pay back a little over £500.
Close was a close associate of Salford gangster Jamie Rothwell, who became one of the National Crime Agency's (NCA) most wanted after Encrochat messages revealed he had organised a shooting in Warrington in furtherance of a gangland feud, all orchestrated from his bolthole in Barcelona.
Violent criminal trusted by gang leader
Close, branded a "violent and dangerous criminal", was "trusted" by Rothwell and was tasked with adulterating drugs to boost the gang's profits. One message he sent to someone who owed him money threatened "I am going to acid your face off", while he was also found to have been involved in the "acquisition" of the AK-47.
Since being handed a 36-year prison sentence, Close has been subject to an investigation into his finances. Manchester Crown Court heard last week that he had benefited from crime to the tune of £1,525,126.45.
Assets totalling just £546
But the probe found he only had available assets totalling just £546. The sum was said to be made up of cash and designer clothing in the possession of the authorities, which will be sold off to pay the sum.
Close was sentenced alongside Rothwell, who was given a prison term of 43 years for his role in the underworld, which included ordering hits, arranging huge drug deals and selling guns. Rothwell became subject of an NCA manhunt after he organised a shooting in Warrington, which saw the victim blasted in the leg by a shooter posed as a pizza delivery man. Three men from Liverpool were subsequently identified as part of the probe and were later convicted of carrying out the shooting on the orders of Rothwell.
Other defendants and adjourned hearings
Another of those to be sentenced was Craig Makinson, who had been drug dealing "over many years" before he was caught out by the infiltration of EncroChat. He had expensive cars, booked luxury holidays to Dubai and Thailand and ramped up his drug dealing to help pay for a £500,000 home with a swimming pool. Makinson was linked to drug dealing in cocaine, heroin and amphetamine worth £2.5m. He helped to finance the purchase of the AK-47 which Close also helped source.
During a hearing held on Friday, proceeds of crime hearings against Rothwell, Makinson and others were adjourned until October. Close was given three months to pay back the £546 sum, to allow the goods to be sold off.
Close, 44, of Henry Street, Leigh, was found guilty of conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life; conspiracy to possess ammunition with intent to endanger life; conspiracy to supply cocaine; and conspiracy to possess criminal property. Makinson, 50, of Springpool, Winstanley, was found guilty of conspiring to possess firearms with intent to endanger life, conspiring to possess ammunition with intent to endanger life, conspiracy to supply cocaine and conspiracy to possess criminal property. He admitted conspiring to supply heroin and amphetamine. Rothwell, 38, of Grindon Avenue, Salford, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess firearms with intent to endanger life; one count of conspiracy to possess ammunition with intent to endanger life; conspiracy to supply a controlled drug of Class A, namely cocaine; two counts of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with intent and a single count of conspiracy to supply a controlled drug of Class B, namely ketamine.
The Manchester Evening News reported that Rothwell was a leading light in the Salford gang feud which erupted between 2014 and 2019 between rival outfits the A-Team and the Anti A-Team. Rothwell was said to be the right-hand-man of Michael Carroll, the alleged leader of the Anti A-Team, in opposition to the A-Team, said to be led by Stephen Britton. Gangster Paul Massey was said to be Britton's mentor.
Rothwell was shot at a car wash in Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan, in March 2015 as part of the feud. A gunman sprayed bullets at him but Rothwell miraculously survived. In July that year, Massey was shot dead outside his home in Salford by Mark Fellows, an Anti A-Team associate nicknamed "The Iceman". Fellows would later murder Massey associate John Kinsella in Rainhill.
Rothwell was extradited back to the UK from Spain in June 2020 following the EncroChat hack. Months later, in October that year, Rothwell went on trial at Manchester Crown Court alongside four other men, including Fellows, accused of conspiring to murder two A-Team associates, after one was shot in February 2015 and the other attacked with a machete in March that year. Rothwell was found not guilty of all charges. At some point after his acquittals, Rothwell left the country. He was arrested in Amsterdam on December 14, 2020, before being extradited back to the UK in March 2021 after police obtained a European arrest warrant.
