A CONVICTED drug dealer from Redditch has been ordered to pay back more than £3,000 or face another three months in prison following a police investigation into his financial affairs.

Gavin Stringer, aged 25, of Abberley Close, Church Hill, and Manor Close, Droitwich, was ordered by a judge at Hereford Crown Court to pay back £3,705 of the £27,488 he is calculated to have made through drug trafficking.

He has six months to pay back the money or face a further three months in prison at the end of his sentence.

Stringer was jailed for two years in May after pleading guilty to charges of being concerned in the supply of Ecstasy and possession of cannabis.

When he was arrested in January, police seized 5,358 Ecstasy tablets, a quantity of cannabis, a hydroponics system and other items from the two addresses used by Stringer in Redditch and Droitwich.

The money has been confiscated using the Proceeds of Crime Act. This enables specially trained financial investigators in the force's Economic Crime Unit to identify and apply through the courts to recover assets gained as a result of crime.

Pat Kelly, from the Economic Crime Unit, said: "Using the powers available means we can hit criminals where it hurts them most - in their pockets.''

Some of the money seized back from Stringer by the courts will be returned to the force to help future investigations.