A drug dealer has been forced to repay more than £39,000 he made profiting from crime.

Joshua Jhugroo must return £39,232.41 in the next six months or spend a further 15 months in prison.

He was jailed for four years in August at Southampton Crown Court after being found guilty of supplying cocaine, possessing criminal property and converting criminal property by purchasing a £20,000 BMW with drug sales cash and laundered money.

Jhugroo was also convicted of possessing cocaine and being concerned in the supply of a class B drug.

The confiscation order was made at a civil hearing on November 29, also at Southampton, under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

The 31-year-old was arrested in June 2012 after police raided his house in Calmore Road, Totton, seizing £17,000 in cash and a quantity of cocaine as part of Operation Fortress, a campaign cracking down on violent crime surrounding drugs.

Det Sgt Matt Taylor, of the Fortress team, said: “The judge at the sentencing hearing made it clear that the money seized from Jhugroo’s house and the cash he used to buy his BMW came from the proceeds of crime.

“Jhugroo claimed that he worked as a boxing promoter and that the numerous text messages we found on his phone were requesting tickets rather than drugs.

“We were able to prove otherwise and he’s now facing a long stretch behind bars.”