A CONVICTED drug dealer, who was caught in South Gloucestershire, has been told today he must pay a half million pound confiscation order.

Paul McNulty, 51, who is currently serving in HMP Liverpool, was given the £523,310.80 order at Bristol Crown Court, having been arrested in Woodford in September 2015, after his car was pulled over on the A38 with 1.2kg of cocaine, worth an estimated £120,000.

The drugs had been hidden inside a “Peppa Pig” plastic tea set, inside a cardboard wrapper, covered in brown parcel tape, which was together with a birthday card, giving the appearance of an unopened gift for a child.

Operation Zeus a drugs operation run by Avon and Somerset Police was targeting the distribution of controlled drugs across the South West.

Forensic examination of the containers and packaging found the defendant’s fingerprints on the inside of the cardboard packaging, also on the outside handle of the box and on the shopping carrier bag in which the parcel had been placed.

As a result police executed a Misuse of Drugs Act warrant in November 2015 to search McNulty’s home in Grenadier Drive, Liverpool.

During the search police found various quantities of cash hidden in the property including some concealed above a cooker hood and behind a false skirting board under the stairs. It total £422,682.75 was found plus a further 44,840 Euros were seized.

Also recovered from the address was a cash-counting machine, champagne and a Rolex watch. 

The defendant was charged on December 1, 2015, and at Bristol Crown Court on January 8 last year admitted conspiracy to supply a class A drug and also of concealing criminal property. He was jailed for seven years.

McNulty has three months to pay the confiscation order £523,310.80, which includes the cash seized.

Failure to pay could result in a further sentence of five years in prison when he completes his current prison term.

Dr Kirstie Cogram, manager of Avon and Somerset Police’s financial investigation unit said: "We are committed to seizing any assets that criminals have gained as a result of crime.

“It is not acceptable that criminals benefit from illegal activities and we will relentlessly pursue them through the courts to ensure their money is taken.

“By doing this we show criminals that they will not benefit from crime and hopefully deter others from entering a life of crime."