A serial burglar operating out of secret workshops in Woodford Green and Brentwood has been ordered to pay Lord Sugar more than £170,000 in compensation after targeting his Chigwell home during a £1.2 million crime spree.
David Buisson stole mostly cash and jewellery from homes and businesses in Redbridge, Epping Forest and Canvey Island between December 2015 and June 2017.
Buisson, 50, admitted 11 burglaries and two attempted burglaries and was sentenced in September last year at Basildon Crown Court to eight years in prison, Essex Police said.
He was brought back before the court on Monday, October 21 for a hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act and was ordered to pay compensation to eight of his victims, including Lord Sugar.
Callum Munday, prosecuting, said that Buisson had benefited from the burglaries to the tune of £1,270,379.50.
He said that £294,973 of assets could be realised.
Judge Ian Graham ordered the confiscation of these assets, and that compensation be paid to eight victims, including £173,977.77 to Lord Sugar.
He gave Buisson three months to comply with the court order, with the threat of four more years in prison should he fail to do so.
Marie Hall, a financial investigator in the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate Serious Economic Crime Unit, said: "Officers from Brentwood CID worked tirelessly with colleagues from across the force, including the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, to bring Buisson to justice.
"We have since been working hard to retrieve as much of the money he made from his crimes as possible.
"Buisson gave no thought to the distress he caused his victims, whom he targeted in a calculated way.
"We will use proceeds of crime legislation wherever possible to ensure such individuals are made to pay for their crimes."
Essex Police said officers investigating Buisson had found tools and items used for drilling and lock picking at addresses linked to him in Ongar and Woodford Green.
They also found a stolen drone and jewellery.
A seized computer showed internet searches had been made for some of the addresses that were later burgled.
Buisson, of Stanley Place, Ongar, was arrested under a European Arrest Warrant in the Spanish town of Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol in April 2018.
Det Insp Rob Staples said after Buisson was jailed: "The detectives involved in this complex investigation left no stone unturned to identify and locate David Buisson to hold him to account for his part in these offences."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here