'Polish Bear' who brought drugs to Norfolk to pay back £76k

Przemyslaw Mysiala, 42 - who held six championship belts and is an internationally recognised name among fight fans - was part of a trafficking ring which saw laundry bags of cocaine brought to the region.

Przemyslaw Mysiala (left) fighting in the ring (Image: YouTube) He was stopped on the A11 near Attleborough with £72,000 in cash in his car on December 8 2021 shortly after he had delivered two kilos of cocaine at a rendevous in Trowse, on the outskirts of Norwich.

Whitlingham Lane, Trowse (Image: Google) It was one of four trips Mysiala made to the city and was observed as part of an undercover operation which led to the arrest of 13 people and saw gang members caged for almost 60 years.

Mysiala, who was jailed for seven years after being found guilty of being concerned in the supply of drugs in February, was back at Norwich Crown Court for a Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) hearing.

Proceeds of crime refers to assets, funds and property gained through criminal activity.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has the power to confiscate these under the Act.

The case, which was up in court on Wednesday, heard from prosecutor Isobel Ascherson who said the benefit figure for Mysiala, who was also convicted of possession of criminal property, was £158,674.80.

However, she said the available asset was £76,138.93 which was the £72,000 seized on his arrest as well as "interest accrued" while in a bank account, waiting for the order to be dealt with.

Anthony Montgomery, for Mysiala, said the defendant agreed to the order.

Recorder Nicola Fitches ordered Mysiala to pay back the cash within three months.

As previously reported seven co-defendants were last year jailed for almost 60 years after they admitted their roles in the drugs operation.

The seven other gang members (Image: Norfolk Police) The gang had been involved in flooding the streets of Norwich and Lowestoft with huge amounts of cocaine with members found in possession of many kilos of drugs and hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The group used the seaside village of Kessingland as a hub for their operation, leading to the drug ring being dubbed 'the Kessingland Connection'.

It took jurors just over three hours to find Mysiala, from Berkshire, guilty of the charges he faced following a trial in January.

Mysiala was the previous holder of the Ultimate Warrior Challenge and Extreme Brawl world titles, as well as being a member of the Ultimate Fight Championship.

The sentencing hearing heard the jail term would be the "kiss of death" to his fighting career.