DRUG dealer Patrick Lee has been ordered to hand over £71,000 he made from his illegal activities. Lee, serving a six-and-a-half year sentence imposed last July, found himself back in court facing a challenge under the Proceeds of Crime Act. The financial

DRUG dealer Patrick Lee has been ordered to hand over £71,000 he made from his illegal activities.

Lee, serving a six-and-a-half year sentence imposed last July, found himself back in court facing a challenge under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

The financial investigation unit of Cambs Police looked into the bank accounts and expenses of Lee, 58, of York Row, Wisbech after he was jailed.

Lee was arrested in August 2006 following an operation that involved 250 police officers from six counties. It resulted in jail sentences being handed out to Lee and 12 others totalling 43 years.

On July 9 Lee pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs and supplying class A drugs and last Friday Judge Howarth made an order against him for £71,000 - the amount he was proved to have benefited from through his criminality.

A police spokesman said: "The order was made through the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. This enables officers to confiscate cash and goods to prevent criminals profiting from their crime."

Det Chief Inspector Dave Sargent said Lee and others had "blighted the lives of the local community, not only through the drug dealing but also its links to low level crime in and around Wisbech."

Speaking after Friday's case at Cambridge, Det Chief Inspector Paul Fullwood, central division crime manager, said: "This is excellent news. The Proceeds of Crime Act has been successfully used to confiscate money and goods to the value of £71,000 which has been gained by Lee through dealing drugs.

"It's also a great start to the financial year for central division and concludes almost two years of work on the case."

FACT FILE

The £71,000 goes to the Home Office. Once a year all confiscated funds by this force are divided into six equal parts, with one sixth coming back to Cambridgeshire Constabulary. This will be put back into tackling crime. Another sixth goes to the Crown Prosecution Service.