THE leader of a gang which distributed massive amounts of drugs across the north of England will be back in court next week as police try to recover the money he made from his dealing.

A half-day confiscation hearing will be held into the finances of County Durham man John Stewart, who was jailed for 11 years in February.

Stewart, 35, of Front Street, Hutton Henry, near Hartlepool, was one of eight people locked up for a total of more than 50 years after they admitted supplying Class A and Class B drugs.

During a National Crime Squad operation, officers seized approximately 40,000 Ecstasy tablets, 248 kilos of cannabis and 7.5kg of cocaine - with a total estimated street value of almost £1.5m.

A judge has already ruled that two other gang members should have their assets seized - £1,000 from Diane Thorpe, and £406 from Neville Graylish.

Thorpe, 44, who is serving an eight-year term for her part in the operation, had a machine gun and a pistol at her home in Leeds when it was raided.

Graylish, 37, of Forbes Place, Newcastle, was jailed for nine years when the gang appeared at Teesside Crown Court earlier this year.

The other gang members locked up were John Brett, 48, of Blyton Avenue, Ryhope, Sunderland, for five years; Derek Harker, 37, of Office Row, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, for four years; Darren Littlefair, 37, of Lancaster Way, Thornaby, Teesside, for four years; Derek Belshaw, 38, from Wigan, for six years; and Alan Hodgson, 23, of Wear View, South Hylton, Sunderland, for four-and-a-half years.

Stewart will appear at Newcastle Crown Court on Tuesday for a hearing under the Drug Trafficking Offences Act.

A spokesman for the National Crime Squad said: "We will look to try to convince the court how much money we think he has made from his illegal activity.

"The judge will decide how much he should pay back to society."