On

1 December 2010, James David Thorne (born 06/07/1986), of Wilkinson Street,

Leigh, was sentenced to five years in prison for possession of Class A drugs

with intent to supply.

Officers

from Wigan raided Thorne's flat on 8 August 2010 and recovered cocaine, MDMA

and cannabis with a street value of up to £278,000.

The

drugs were hidden in packages stashed inside a utility room cupboard and

Thorne's van.

During

the search, officers also seized a large suitcase with £151,900 in cash inside.

Today,

27 January 2011, a Forfeiture Direction Hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act

(POCA) - held before Manchester City Magistrates' Court - ruled that GMP could

seize the cash from Thorne.

Detective

Sergeant Paul Jackson said: "Thorne is a convicted drug-dealer who had

more than a quarter of a million pounds worth of drugs at his disposal - drugs

that could have found their way into our communities and caused serious damage

had it not been for the positive action we took.

"Today,

we really hit Thorne where it really hurts - his wallet. As well as serving a

lengthy jail sentence, we have also seized more than £150,000 worth of his drug

money, taking it from his undeserving pockets and putting it back into our

fight against crime.

"This

is another good example of how police are using the POCA legislation to ensure

that not only are convicted criminals locked up, but that we will continue to

pursue them through the courts and strip them of any money, property or cars

paid for as a result of their criminal ways.

"I

also want to urge members of the public to look at what we have done to Thorne

and see what we can do to criminals when we work together. Please, if you have

any intelligence about drug dealing in your community, tell us and we will take

action. With your help, we will come down hard on criminals, putting them

behind bars and out of pocket."