A BETTWS heroin dealer will have to pay back £11,275 gained from his illicit trade.

Aftab Hussain, aged 26, formerly of Tone Close, was caught when police found his fingerprints on a bag of 126 wraps of heroin worth around £1,000. He was arrested on January 8 and charged the next day after officers found £9,000 during a search of his home.

Hussain profited by £36,827 but the money he had available from cash and assets was only a third of that amount, Newport Crown Court heard on Friday.

Meirion Davies, prosecuting, said Hussain had admitted being concerned in the supply of a Class A drug as well as dangerous driving and was sentenced earlier this year to seven years in prison.

Much of his available money - £9,200 - had already been seized by the Ministry of Justice, the court heard, as well as three electrical items which the government would sell online.

More could be raised from selling two of Hussain’s Ford cars including a Coupe, the court heard, although it was possible they had already been sold or scrapped.

Mr Williams said: “It’s generally accepted these cars are no longer in his possession. But there’s no documentary proof of that and there’s a perception they were in his possession at the time of the criminality.”

Finding the rest of the money might be difficult for his client, he said: “He’s going to be in custody for a very long time. In reality he may not be able to pay but that will be an argument for another day.”

Judge Philip Richards said: “Obviously there is a public interest in ensuring that the assets are realised.”

The amounts discussed were agreed by prosecution and defence prior to the case. Hussain was absent from the Proceeds of Crime hearing but earlier spoke to his lawyer Gareth Williams via video link from HMP Oakwood.

After the sentence in February this year, Gwent Police’s PC Matt Jordan said: "Hussain has been to prison a number of times and despite being on licence for drug dealing continued to sell this misery on the streets of Newport for which he has rightly received a substantial sentence. We are determined to do all we can to combat the use, abuse and sale of controlled drugs."