POLICE have used new forfeiture powers to make a man pay £7,000 into the public coffers.
The order against Matthew Read, aged 23, of Abbey Road, Abbey Wood, was made by Bexley magistrates.
Read, who was arrested in February, appeared at Blackfriars Crown Court in August, where he was jailed for two years for possession of cocaine, 18 months for possession two shotguns without a licence and 18 months for handling stolen goods the two shotguns.
All the sentences will run concurrently.
When police searched Read's home, they found the shotguns as well as cocaine and a large amount of cash.
Allegations Read was a drug dealer were dropped but officers from Bexley police's financial investigation unit applied to Bexley Magistrates' Court under the new community payback scheme for a forfeiture hearing.
Magistrates decided Read should forfeit the £7,050 recovered from his home by police and pay £2,600 police costs as well as his own legal costs.
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