Two BROTHERS from West Yorkshire serving prison sentences for drugs offences have been told to surrender more than £200,000 of their ill-gotten gains.
Robert and Christopher Squires were given jail terms of four-and-a-half years and five-and-a-half-years respectively in May 2011 for conspiring to produce cannabis.
They had been arrested a year earlier after police swooped on nine addresses in Heckmondwike and Batley and discovered equipment being used in the production of drugs.
Officers found more than 2,000 cannabis plants worth around £350,000 as well as about £30,000 in cash and £20,000 in premium bonds.
Now the Squires brothers have been hit with confiscation orders following a hearing at Leeds Crown Court.
Robert Squires was told to pay up nearly £90,000 and will have to sell a property in Powell Street, Heckmondwike.
Christopher Squires, meanwhile, has been ordered to forfeit around £125,000. He will also have to sell homes on Powell Street, Heckmondwike, and Commonside, Batley, as well as his Toyota RAV4 vehicle.
A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police’s crime division said: “As well as their significant sentences, the Squires will now also have to pay back the property that has been proven to have been gained through the pair’s criminal activities.
“This kind of action proves that the police are not satisfied with people being put behind bars.
“Where criminals have been found to be living beyond their means through the profits of their crimes, we will pursue them through the courts and take back assets and put them to more positive use.”
The original investigation into the activities of the brothers was carried out as part of a push to smash what the police describe as “organised crime networks” in Kirklees.
Robert Squires was 49 at the time of his sentencing while his brother was 45. The judge in their case called their cannabis-growing operation “professional and sophisticated”.