A jailed Felixstowe drug dealer has been ordered by a court to repay £14,000 he made from his crimes.

Lee Dunn, of Alexandra Road, Felixstowe, was found to have made more than £3million as his part in the supply of conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis.

During a hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act heard at Ipswich Crown Court, 42-year-old Dunn had been involved in the supply of 23kgs of cocaine and around 800kgs of cannabis. 

Dunn was jailed for 12 years and eight months in July last year.

The court heard Dunn, who appeared at the hearing via a prison video link, was a major player in a £2 million conspiracy to supply drugs after police intercepted messages on the encrypted platform Encrochat.

Peter Gair, prosecuting, said Dunn's available assets were £14,300, which was in the hands of the police and Recorder Paul Garlick made a confiscation order in that sum.

The investigation, by the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU), was part of Operation Venetic, which saw data uncovered following the seizure of servers linked to the Encrochat platform.

Unlocking the encrypted tool – used exclusively by criminals to communicate with each other – allowed investigators to view messages and other media sent between users as they discussed large-scale criminality such as the movement of drugs and weapons.

It was one of the biggest crime-fighting breakthroughs of recent years, and has laid bare the operations of gangs across the country.

Using this data, detectives from ERSOU were able to establish that Dunn was behind one of the handles on the system, uncovering conversations between him and various other users relating to the distribution of cocaine and cannabis.