CONFISCATION of £80,000 seized from a drug courier on a run from Merseyside to the North-East has been confirmed by a crown court judge.

Sixteen £5,000 bundles of bank notes, in plastic bands, were found in a hold-all recovered from a car stopped at Bowburn, on the A1(M) in County Durham, on November 5 last year.

Seven one-kilogram blocks of high purity cocaine were also discovered in the hold-all, in a hidden boot compartment of the Volvo S60.

Durham Crown Court was told one block appeared to have been slightly opened to allow potential customers to taste test before buying.

The court heard that if adulterated to lesser purity, the seized cocaine could have raised up to £950,000 in street sale terms.

Prosecutor Chris Baker said the car driver, John Neill, was thought to have been in the midst of a drug run between Merseyside and the North-East.

Readings from the satellite navigation system indicated that the Volvo, originating from Liverpool, appeared to have made 13 visits to the North-East between June 6 and November 5 last year.

Apart from the £80,000 in the boot, a further £200 in a wallet, thought to be a payment or to cover petrol costs and other expenditure, was also seized from Neill.

He made “no reply” to police questioning, but at his first court appearance, later in November, 33-year-old Neill, of Huyton, admitted possessing the class A drug with intent to supply.

It was admitted on the basis he was acting as a courier.

Judge Christopher Prince subsequently questioned whether Neill was merely a paid driver.

But, Neill’s counsel, Liam O’Brien, described his role as, “more of a prominent or trusted courier”.

Jailing him for a total of seven years, Judge Prince also ordered destruction of the drugs, as well as confiscation of the recovered £80,200 and the car.

But after a police query over the order made relating to the money, the case came back to court.

Judge Prince confirmed the confiscation was made under the Misuse of Drugs Act, rather than the seizure provisions of the Proceeds of Crime Act.

“I didn’t want this money slipping through some gap in the legislation,” said the judge.

Addressing Neill, he added: “This application doesn’t really matter a jot to you.

“You had £80,000 and, now, you haven’t got it. The public now have it.

“The result is the same.”