A drug dealer who was caught with cocaine worth £400,000 has been ordered to repay almost £300,000 in three months or face more jail time.

Luke Connor, of Riverside Place, Wickford, was jailed for eight years last February after he was first charged with possession with intent to supply class A drugs, possession of criminal property, possession of a prohibited weapon and possession of cannabis in July 2021.

During a search of his home, Essex Police officers uncovered three 1kg bricks of cocaine, about 1kg of loose cocaine in a number of containers, a substantial amount of cannabis, about £140,000 in cash, a number of weapons and several mobile phones.

They also found a bag for life in the boot of Connor's Audi with another £80,000 inside.

The seized cocaine had a street value of about £400,000.

Now, after a confiscation order was made at Basildon Crown Court last Thursday (July 13) Connor must repay £283,684.

The 28-year-old has three months to do so or he will face an additional five-year custodial sentence, at the end of which he would still owe the money.

Detective Inspector Alison Hooper, of the force's serious economic crime unit, said: “The economic impact of Connor’s crimes can’t be underestimated.

“Hundreds of thousands of pounds in criminal proceeds were found in his home – confiscating this disrupts the cashflow of organised crime and sees Connor denied the designer goods and car he had funded with drug dealing.

“This is a fantastic result for our financial investigators who have worked tirelessly throughout this case to make sure these assets end in the possession of the police. Crime will not pay in Essex.”