A drugs courier has been ordered to forfeit nearly £30,000 by a court.

Andrew Omari Patton, from Enfield in Middlesex, had travelled to Aberdeen to supply Class A drugs on behalf of a London-based organised crime group.

Grampian Police found him at an address in Aberdeen with a suitcase containing 108 packages of heroin and 70 packages of crack cocaine.

The heroin had a street value of more than £8000 and the cocaine more than £11,000. The suitcase also contained £27,375 in cash.

Patton, 24, had arrived in Aberdeen a few days before the raid, on September 28, 2010.

He was later sentenced to four years and six months imprisonment for being concerned in the supply of drugs.

Patton has now been ordered to forfeit £27,375 at a hearing at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.

Ruaraidh Macniven, head of the civil recovery unit, said: “Organised crime groups dealing drugs in Aberdeen or other places in Scotland should be in no doubt that the Civil Recovery Unit will use all powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to disrupt their activities and deprive them of their profits.

"The Civil Recovery Unit is determined to make Scotland a hostile environment for criminals."

Detective inspector Kevin Walker, from Grampian Police's major investigation team, added: "Depriving criminals of their money or assets hits them where it hurts. It disrupts their activities, prevents them from re-investing any profits, and makes it more difficult for them to maintain their criminal enterprises.

"We will continue to work with our partners at Crown Office to send out the clear message that there is no place in Grampian for organised crime groups or criminals who wish to live a lifestyle funded by crime."