A DRUG dealer who used a motor vehicle repair business as cover for a £350,000 cannabis farm has been ordered to hand over some of his ill-gotten gains.

York Crown Court heard Richard George Oldroyd, 36, from Whixley near York, had benefited from his drug crimes to the value of £120,000.

At a Proceeds Of Crime Act hearing, Oldroyd was ordered to sell his assets which included high-value watches, a diamond ring and personalised number plates, totalling £12,385.

The hearing also heard James Christian Deegan, 37, of Hornbean Way, Leeds, was found to have benefited from his criminal conduct to the value of £26,000. He was ordered to repay £1,270, the total of his realisable assets.

The men were convicted after police discovered the cannabis farm at Marston Moor Business Park, Tockwith, which were run by Oldroyd under the guise of a motor vehicle repair business.

Oldroyd pleaded guilty to the production and supply of cannabis and money laundering at York Crown Court in March this year, and was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment.

Deegan pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply cannabis and was sentenced in June to 12 months’ imprisonment.

Both have been given three months to repay the amount or Oldroyd faces a further six months behind bars and Deegan a further 30 days, and they will still have to repay the money.

Katharine Wells of North Yorkshire Police’s Financial Investigation Unit, said: “This is a clear message to the criminal world that crime does not pay and the law will catch up with you.

“The Proceeds Of Crime Act allows us to hit criminals in their pocket, where it hurts the most. Although the amount ordered to repay is a fraction of the amount the pair benefited from, they will remain liable to pay the full amount of their illegally earned income from any future assets.”