A DRUG dealer whose heroin stash was discovered by a police sniffer dog will be forced to hand over £4,000 from the proceeds of his crime.

Mark Walker, 30, of Newbury Way, Billingham, near Stockton, was jailed for six years in October last year after admitting three counts of possessing class A drugs with intent to supply.

A Cleveland Police sniffer dog, named Buster, helped play a part in his conviction by uncovering £10,000-worth of heroin, along with cash, which had been hidden under loose floorboards at another property in the town where Walker had been staying.

Yesterday, Judge George Moorhouse directed that a total of nearly £4,000 could be seized from the proceeds of Walker's drug dealing following an application by police.

Walker's partner, Alison Kernan, 29, who was given a two-year suspended sentence after admitting two counts of possession with intent to supply heroin, on the basis that she held a quantity of drugs on Walker's behalf, was also subject to the confiscation proceedings.

Acting Detective Sergeant Ged Barron, of Cleveland Police's financial investigation unit, said: "This shows the criminal fraternity that not only will we arrest and seek to convict them for their crimes, but we are looking to take the proceeds of their activity too."

Det Sgt Barron praised Buster, a spaniel, who is cared for by dog handler PC Darren Gobie.

He said: "He played a crowning role. He made a number of finds and identified a large amount of drugs when there was a good possibility that they could have been missed."