Drug dealing male model who fled UK and mocked police ordered to pay £31,000
A British male model who was jailed for drug dealing after two years on the run in Asia has been ordered to pay back £31,000.
Terrence Murrell, 34, who taunted police with images of his lifestyle abroad on social media, has been ordered to pay back the sum or face another 15 months in prison.
He was a leading member of a £2m anabolic steroid gang that moved drugs from Hong Kong and China.
He was jailed for more than three years last February after police caught him travelling from Bali to Cambodia and took him back to the UK.
A court has now ruled he must repay £31,702.18 he made from dealing illegal steroids as part of a "very extensive criminal operation".
Instead of keeping a low profile in Bali, Indonesia, fugitive Murrell posted pictures on Facebook and Instagram of him smiling in the sunshine at an infinity pool, in the gym and using his laptop in a four-poster bed.
He captioned one picture with friends: "The baddest men in Bali."
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But British police won permission to travel to Cambodia to bring him back to the UK to start three years and five months behind bars.
Prosecutor Sarah Badrawy told a Proceeds of Crime hearing that Murrell had benefited by £31,702.18 from his crimes - and North Wales Police already had those assets.
His Honour Timothy Petts ordered Murrell to repay the £31,702.18 within three months or face an extra 15 months imprisonment.
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He said: "I'm very pleased that the matters have been agreed and I make a confiscation order in the terms proposed for payment of £31,702.18. That follows in the usual way an extensive investigation into what Mr Murrell received from his crimes and his available assets."
The judge added that the police are allowed to come back to court to try to recover more money if they discover other assets in future.
A court heard Murrell was a leading member of the steroid gang, who shipped drugs from China to the UK to sell.
Murrell, from Didcot, Oxfordshire, told police he bought the drugs for himself as he "wanted to look his best as a male model".
He later admitted supplying class C drugs in North Wales through websites but failed to turn up for a sentencing hearing at Caernarfon Crown Court.
John Lyons, defending, said: "He has been prevaricating about his pleas for some time. He was always going to admit the offences but kept putting off the evil day."
Judge Rees said Murrell was part of "a very extensive criminal operation" which imported the drugs from Hong Kong and China.
He added: "It is well known that anabolic steroids have been widely abused in sport, especially where an increase in muscle mass is required.
“The administration of steroids often produces unwanted side effects, mood swings, overconfidence, aggression, loss of libido and liver toxicity.”
After his arrest, a North Wales Police spokesman said: "People think they can escape justice by leaving the country, but the arrest of Murrell demonstrates that we will we pursue offenders and take the necessary steps to track them down.”
