Robber ordered to pay back £20,000
Published: 16:28, 28 March 2013
A man serving three years and four months in prison for a robbery in Aylesford has been ordered to pay back more than £20,000.
Andrew Rapo, 33, of Pattenden Gardens, East Peckham, was sentenced in August 2012 following a robbery of Brake Bros depot in Aylesford, in January 2012.
During the incident over £25,000 was stolen and a security guard was tied up and assaulted.
On Wednesday, March 20, a confiscation hearing was held at Maidstone Crown Court, during which Rapo's defence claimed he only benefited from the crime by £600 and that other offenders took the money. But His Honour Judge Polden accepted Kent Police's submissions to the contrary - that Rapo benefited from the crime, and that the money was hidden.
He ordered that Rapo must pay back £20,128 in six months.
If the money is not paid in this time then a further 12 months will be added to Rapo’s sentence. The money will be paid back to Brake Bros as compensation.
Jackie Lowdon, financial investigator at Kent Police, said: "The proceeds of crime act is a powerful piece of legislation in helping us make sure that criminals don’t profit from their crimes. This was a violent robbery where a man was assaulted and a substantial amount of money taken, which was never found."
More by this author
Chris Hunter