THE leader of a drugs gang which flooded the streets of Bolton with heroin has been ordered to hand over more than £200,000.

Wayne Spencer, aged 31, ran the sophisticated racket from his Westhoughton home through a network of young street dealers, Bolton Crown Court was told.

On Friday, his role as gang leader was ruled to have netted him a total of £211,745.

Spencer's life of Crime was brought to an and he was sentenced to 13 years in prison earlier this year after undercover police infiltrated his gang to buy heroin.

Five other members of the gang were yesterday ordered to hand over a total of £109,706 under the Proceeds of Crime Act, designed to stop criminals profiting from their activities.

Judge William Morris told the gang members: "You have all benefited from a criminal lifestyle."

Spencer's right-hand man, Scott Byrne, aged 18, who had been sentenced to three years in prison, was told he must pay £48,513 and he also had his VW Golf confiscated.

Spencer and Byrne were also told they must hand over £12,000 each as compensation to police who bought more than a kilo of heroin during their four-month investigation.

Spencer, of Drake Hall, Westhoughton, and Byrne, also of Westhoughton, had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply heroin.

James Close, aged 21, of Hulton Avenue, Worsley, was told he must pay £45,903 - money he stole in a post office raid in Leigh in 2003.

He was also sentenced, along with Spencer for the robbery of £19,000 from police officers posing as customers.

Close received a seven-year sentence for the two robberies and one charge of offering to supply heroin.

Spencer, an apprentice of murdered Bolton crime boss Billy Webb, was found to have body armour and guns at his home when it was raided by police.

On his sentence, Judge Morris told him: "You were clearly responsible for a sophisticated and well-organised supply chain.

"Whether or not you were part of a larger network, we will never know."

On Thursday Lee Adamson, aged 25, of Ashburn Close, Horwich, was ordered to hand over £10,955 and Karl Houlder, aged 20, of Grisdale Road, Deane, was ordered to pay £2,590.

A second man named Lee Adamson, aged 37, of Deane Road, Deane, was told he must pay £1,745.

Eight members of the gang were sentenced to a total of 46 years in January following Operation Cormorant, mounted by police in Bolton to tackle top level dealers who wreak misery on addicts and residents.

Jamie Sharples, aged 18, of Clough Avenue, Westhoughton, will have a financial hearing at a later date.

There was no application made against Dean Cooke, of Bolton.

Both pleaded guilty to their part in the conspiracy.