A 24-year-old man who once brazenly bragged about his cash flow on video now faces a considerably different reality after authorities ordered him to pay back thousands in criminal profits. Iestyn Raven, who claimed he was struggling financially while applying for benefits, received a confiscation order after the courts determined he had gained significant wealth through drug dealings and illicit activities.
Raven, originally from Barry, had come under police scrutiny as part of an investigation into a drug distribution operation known as the “Ronnie and Reggie” line, a network cynically named after the notorious Kray twins. The operation involved distributing cocaine and using mobile phones to send mass messages marketing their product, a method colloquially referred to as “text bombing”.
Investigators were able to identify Raven through CCTV, which captured him topping up credit on one of the implicated dealer phones. The same devices were later traced back to controlled drug transactions, further strengthening links between Raven and the illegal enterprise. When officers apprehended a 17-year-old boy using the line, they unearthed a chain of incriminating communications between him and Raven. These messages gave insight into the orchestration behind the local drug trade, revealing Raven as a key player.
Officers detained Raven while in a vehicle on 30 September, before executing a search warrant at his partner’s address in Barry—where he was reportedly residing at the time. The subsequent search led to the seizure of approximately 30 grams of cocaine, estimated at over £1,100 in street value, alongside more than £2,000 in cash and the mobile phone linked to the drugs operation.
Authorities didn’t stop there. A further search of Raven’s official residence on Plymouth Road turned up several zombie knives—a class of particularly menacing bladed weapons now banned in the UK—and various pieces of designer clothing, suspected to be funded by criminal earnings.
Perhaps most damning of all was a video discovered on the recovered phone. In this recording, Raven is seen speaking with a call handler regarding his Universal Credit application, all while holding a wad of notes to his ear and play-acting his financial hardship. The irony of his claim—“I am struggling I am for money right now”—was not lost on the court.
Raven, having already admitted to supplying Class A drugs and possessing the proceeds of crime, was handed a 40-month prison sentence earlier in the year at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court. A subsequent hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) at Newport Crown Court focused on recouping unlawful gains from his activity.
The court determined Raven had benefited to the tune of £3,570, but found his currently held assets only amounted to £2,380. Judge Daniel Williams gave him three months to pay back this sum, warning that failure to comply would result in a further two months’ imprisonment.
Authorities continue to crack down on drug-related crime in South Wales, often using the Proceeds of Crime Act to ensure that offenders do not retain illicit profits, a measure seen as crucial in disrupting the economic incentives of criminal networks. Cases such as this also highlight the discrepancies between a public persona of financial struggle and private participation in lucrative, illegal enterprises.
As law enforcement agencies intensify efforts to dismantle local drug lines and seize criminal assets, the story of Iestyn Raven serves as a cautionary tale. What once appeared as easy money can swiftly transform into long sentences and financial penalties, with little room for laughter when the authorities come knocking.