Drugs baron ordered to forfeit £1m

A man who masterminded a huge drug dealing network in London has been ordered to hand over £1 million of his ill-gotten gains.

Nicholas Templar, 37, was head of a gang that brought huge amounts of cocaine and ecstasy into London. Police arrested him in New Cross in 1999 after a lengthy covert intelligence operation. Templar was sentencedto 15 years in prison in 2000. Thirteen other gang members were jailed for a total of more than 25 years.

At Kingston Crown Court on Tuesday, Judge Michael Hucker told Templar to pay the fine in the next 12 months or risk having five years added to his sentence.

Detective Superintendent Adrian Hanstock, the senior investigating officer, said police were determined to strip drug dealers of their assets.

The Metropolitan Police has seized £17 million in cash and £19.5 million in other assets from criminals this year.