A BID to confiscate potentially hundreds of thousands of pounds from a convicted rapist and cannabis farmer has been delayed until October.

Eiraj Zarezadeh was jailed for nine years last September after his conviction for the rape of a schoolgirl following a trial at Durham Crown Court.

He was given a further six months behind bars having previously admitted drug production and abstracting electricity, relating to the recovery of 380 cannabis plants from his home in Grange Villa, near Chester-le-Street.

Police found the plants, in various stages of growth, after visiting Zarezadeh’s Front Street premises to arrest him, following the rape complaint, on Christmas Eve, 2012.

Due to the number of plants, inquiries have taken place into the extent of his profit under Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) proceedings.

The POCA confiscation hearing was to have taken place at the court today (Wednesday July 9).

It was to determine how much could be confiscated from the 49-year-old businessman, a property landlord who previously ran a gym and takeaway.

But Brendan O’Leary, the barrister representing Zarezadeh, asked for more time to produce documentary proof to try to rebut the prosecution claims as to his earnings from drug production.

Mr O’Leary said the Crown claims there was more than £1m in unexplained credits in Zarezadeh’s bank accounts with the benefit figure estimated at more than £500,000.

Judge Deborah Sherwin agreed to grant the defence more time to complete its investigation.

A new date for the POCA hearing was agreed for October 9.