David writes:

A man jailed for not declaring a £5m Viking hoard he and a friend discovered with metal detectors claimed he had sold 20 coins to a rogue dealer at a motorway service station.

George Powell, 40, who was jailed in 2019 alongside his fellow metal detectorist Layton Davies, 54, told a proceeds of crime act hearing that he received £20,000 for the 1,100-year-old coins.

Powell claimed he passed the coins on to corrupt antiques dealer Simon Wicks who gave him the cash at a service station on the M4 motorway.

He said: 'I gambled it away. I've got a bit of a naughty habit.'

'We are metal detectorists, you want to become rich to get the payout, it's a treasure hunting hobby.'

To read the complete article, see:
Rogue metal detectorist who was jailed for failing to declare £5m Anglo-Saxon hoard tells proceeds of crime hearing he sold it for £20,000 to a man at a service station and has gambled the lot away(https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11363093/Rogue-metal-detectorist-claims-gambled-away-illicit-proceeds-haul.html)

David adds:

For more information on the show The Detectorists, see:
Detectorists: Why a metal-detecting show became a global hit(https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20221216-detectorists-why-a-metal-detecting-show-became-a-global-hit)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
DETECTORISTS CAUGHT TAKING ANGLO-SAXON HOARD(https://www.coinbooks.org/v22/esylum_v22n47a19.html)