A Halifax man who admitted drugs offences has been ordered to pay back more than £19,000 out of his own pocket.

Bilal Ahmed, aged 38, of St Augustine's Terrace, who was arrested as part of Calderdale Division’s Operation Irondale, will have to pay back £19,630.

He will have to find the money within six months or face a further custodial sentence after the confiscation order was made under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 at Bradford Crown Court last Friday (September 7).

Ahmed is currently in jail after he admitted 11 counts of drug related offences, mainly for being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs as well as a supply of Class A drugs charge.

He was jailed for 28 months following a hearing at Bradford Crown Court earlier this year.

Operation Irondale was launched in 2011 to target suspected drug dealing in the Calderdale area. It resulted in a large number of arrests and subsequent jail sentences for many of those involved.

Detective Sergeant Phil Jagger, of Calderdale Division’s Proceeds of Crime Team, said: “Confiscations like this send the clear message to those involved in drug related offences that we will use all powers available to stop them and ensure their crimes do not pay.”