MONEY seized by police during a drugs raid at the home a 53-year-old man was yesterday ordered to be confiscated.

Harry Cochrane, of previous good character, admitted "making a mistake" in agreeing to collect a package containing cannabis blocks from a stranger at Durham Railway Station, for a payment of £200.

Within an hour of his return with the drugs, police swooped at his council home, in Lingholme, Chester-le-Street, and recovered the box, containing 23-kilos of cannabis.

Durham Crown Court was told that apart from the drugs, which have an estimated wholesale purchase price of £46,000, police also seized £1,555 in cash during the raid, last March.

Cochrane received a 12-month suspended sentence after admitting being concerned in the supply of a class B drug at the court last August.

In a further hearing yesterday, brought under the Drug Trafficking Act, Cochrane, who is on incapacity benefit, claimed he only received £200 for collecting the drugs.

But he said the rest of the £1,555 was made up of savings he and his wife made from giving up smoking, while he was also keeping spending money for a friend who was planning a holiday with his girlfriend.

Recorder Simon Bourne-Arton QC said he was "not satisfied" that Cochrane was in a position to save money "to that extent", or that he had been asked to keep his friend's holiday cash. He ordered confiscation of the £1,555, and made him pay £250 towards costs