A former football hooligan who became a drug runner for a ‘County Lines’ gang has been ordered to pay back thousands back into the public purse as recompense for his ill-gotten gains.

Terence Sweeney, from Northwich, was jailed for more than three years in July last year after he was caught red-handed with 54g of cocaine in North Yorkshire.

On Monday, at the adjourned financial-confiscation hearing at York Crown Court, the 55-year-old was ordered by Recorder Anthony Hawks to pay £7,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

The Crown Prosecution Service said the £7,000 sum was both the benefit figure from Sweeney’s involvement in the drug enterprise and the amount available to him which he could repay.

Sweeney – an ex-Everton football hooligan who was jailed in 2006 following violent clashes with Manchester United fans – was caught with 54g of cocaine in January 2018 after his Vauxhall Vivaro van was pulled over by cops in Thirsk.

Officers also found some cannabis and a wooden cosh inside the vehicle. There was also £1,000 inside Sweeney’s wallet.

The cash was the proceeds from Sweeney’s role as a “drug courier, trusted to drive class A drugs across county lines,” said prosecutor John Batchelor.

Sweeney, a strapping figure, had been used as hired muscle by drug overlords in the north west.

During the drugs bust, officers also found ‘significant (drug) paraphernalia’ inside Sweeney’s van. This included weighing scales and a ‘mixing agent’.

The court heard that Sweeney’s previous convictions were ‘all football-related hooliganism and offensive weapons’.

Sweeney, of Cockington Close, ultimately admitted possessing cocaine with intent to supply on the basis he was a courier. He also admitted possessing cannabis, class C tablets, and an offensive weapon.

Defence barrister Desmond Lennon said Sweeney was ‘under direction’ from drug suppliers higher up the chain, although he had benefited financially.

He claimed it was a ‘one-off incident’ and that Sweeney was in a ‘bad way’ at the time due to his drug use.

He said Sweeney was a married family man who had been working at a community café at a property leased from the local council in Northwich.

Recorder Mr Hawks ordered Sweeney to repay the money within three months and that any failure to do so would result in an extra three months in prison.

Sweeney is still serving the three-and-a-half-year jail sentence from July 2020 and appeared for the POCA hearing via video link on Monday morning.

In May 2006, he and two other Everton supporters were jailed for 27 months each and given the maximum 10-year football banning order at Liverpool Crown Court after being convicted of violent disorder.

The 'very ugly incident' occurred during heightened tensions between Everton and Manchester United fans when Wayne Rooney made his first appearance for the Red Devils after his transfer from the Merseyside club.

*In the initial court report we incorrectly stated Sweeney had been caught with 54kg of cocaine, not 54g as it should have been. We apologise for the error.