A NORTHWICH man jailed for selling deadly pills falsely marketed as a 'weight loss' drug has been forced to pay back more than £23,000 he made from his crime.

Jack Finney was sentenced to 28 months in prison back in December 2021 after pleading guilty at Chester Crown Court to illegally selling 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) on the dark web.

DNP, a highly toxic industrial chemical, can cause serious harm to humans and has resulted in at least 33 deaths across the UK to date. In October 2023, it was classed as a poison by the Home Office.

The 28-year-old, then of Foxwist Green, Whitegate, returned to the dock in 2022 where the court ruled he had made more than £180,000 from his crimes.

But as only £23,000 was available to him at the time, he was ordered to repay this amount or face a further eight months being added to his sentence.

Adrian Foster, chief crown prosecutor in the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: "It’s taken several years to secure full justice, but we have ensured Jack Finney will never see £23,000 he made from selling lethal so-called ‘weight loss’ drugs and anabolic steroids over the dark web."

The amount Finney was ordered to pay back, which he did so by April 2024, included a quantity of Monero cryptocurrency, which was sold off by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) for £15,000.

Jack FinneyJack Finney (Image: CPS)

Monero cryptocurrency, a privacy coin which cannot be tracked and traced, has been adopted by criminals to conduct transactions on the dark web, making it very difficult to convert to cash.

This is the first time that a case prosecuted by the CPS has led to Monero being converted.

Mr Foster added: “This is the first case where we have converted Monero currency into cash.

"This shows that criminals cannot hide their money in any cryptocurrencies in the hope it will be safe from the authorities.

"We will continue to go after him for the remaining amount if he comes into more money so this is not the end of our pursuit of his dirty money."

Half of the £23,000 will be retained by the Home Office with the remainder split between the courts, CPS and the FSA.

Andrew Quinn, head of the FSA’s National Food Crime Unit, said: "We welcome the court’s decision to force Jack Finney to hand over the £23,000 he made from selling lethal substances on the dark web.

"We hope it sends a strong message to anyone else who is seeking to profit from illegal sales.

“No matter what format currency is in, we will find it and confiscate it.

“The NFCU has a close working partnership with local authorities and other law enforcement agencies, both in the UK and abroad.

"Together, we continue to pursue and bring to justice those who endanger the public and break the law."

Detective Sergeant David MacFarlane, from Cheshire Police’s Cyber Crime Unit, said: "The Cheshire Cyber Crime Unit conducted the initial seizure of the cryptocurrency.

"This posed several challenges due to the particular type of cryptocurrency; however, these were overcome and has resulted in the forfeiture of the funds by the National Food Crime Unit, part of the FSA, which we have supported throughout the investigation.

"As demonstrated throughout this joint operation, robust action will be taken against those who choose to profit from putting members of the public in danger with the illegal sale of lethal substances.

“This case should serve as a deterrent to those who think they can get away with committing these types of offences – crime does not pay."