'Low-income' shop worker with £28million drugs empire brought down amid hunt for Dale Cregan

A man who claimed to be a low-income manager of a shop had his brought down as police hunted for cop killer

Billy Black told His Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC) he'd earned just £1,985 over an eight year period, but he managed to extend his home in Droylsden, Greater . He also flashed his Rolex watch, 60 inch TV and owned a luxury caravan in Prestatyn while driving around in a plush Mercedes CLK 200 soft-top sports car.

In fact, Black owned a £28 million property empire financed by his drug dealing. The 28 rental homes he owned across Manchester he brought in from dealing, the Manchester Evening News reported.

READ MORE:

But it was to be the exploits of a fellow criminal that brought his plush existence crashing down. In May 2012, Cregan had slaughtered rivals Mark Short, 23, and his father David Short, 46, in Droyslden in a pair of terrifying gun and grenade gangland hits.

During the search for Cregan, cops looked for him in Black’s home but there was no sign of him. Suspicions were raised, however, when police spotted the oak parquet flooring throughout the house.

Rolex watches and jewellery worth £120,000 were hidden under a wardrobe. One Rolex alone was valued at £23,000 and brazen Black even told detectives: "Be careful. That one's worth £23,000. Look after them. I'll be wanting them back after the trial."

Black’s girlfriend had a £16,800 watch on her wrist, while there was even a further £12,000 stashed away in a laundry basket. Documents linking Black to a number of Manchester properties were found.

A financial probe was sparked and found that between 1998 and 2006, Black paid just £362 in tax. Despite this, he said on a number of mortgage applications that his income was a lot higher and paid deposits totalling £991,120 for his various properties. Undercover cops followed him over the next five months.

Black met with his dealers at Droylsden cemetery, where Cregan had aborted an earlier plot to kill David Short at the graveside of his son Mark. Black had been handed a 'threat to life' warning by the police, who believed he was at risk from allies of the Shorts following their murders.

Another Rolex worth £8,000 was on Black’s wrist when he was arrested for a second time. Five days after a raid on Black’s home Cregan murdered PCs Fiona Bone, 32, and Nicola Hughes, 23 in a gun-and-grenade attack. Cregan claimed police had been “hounding” his family while he was on the run.

Black was jailed for 15 years after a jury found him guilty of four counts of fraud, two counts of conspiracy to commit fraud, one count of conspiracy to supply class A drugs, one count of conspiracy to supply Class B drugs, one count of money laundering for drugs, fraud and criminal property, and one count of money laundering for tax evasion in January 2016.

Eight members of his gang were also jailed for a total 40 years. A solicitor and accountant who assisted the money laundering and dodgy property deals were also jailed.

The drug dealer was ordered to pay a so-called ‘gangster tax’ of nearly £1 million. Prosecutor Nick Clarke QC told a Proceeds of Crime hearing at Manchester Crown Court that Black made £1.5m from crime – of which £999,000 was recoverable.

To recover the money, a total of 18 houses, a VW , Rolex watches, recovered cash and jewellery and would have to be sold and bank accounts emptied.

Black refused and another seven years was slapped on to his sentence.