A MAN who helped launder up to £21m for organised crime gangs has been ordered to pay back more than £180,000.

In January, Kamran Butt, 48, of Great Stone Street, Stretford, was convicted along with three other men at Manchester Crown Court.

Butt was given three and a half years in prison.

All four admitted 'in varying degrees' to work on behalf of organised crime to effectively 'cleam' its drug money through different bank accounts.

The investigation revealed that about £21m had been laundered. It was also established that during a 23-day period between 25 August 2011 and 16 September 2011 Butt was involved in laundering approximately £2m in criminal cash.

Last week, Butt was ordered to pay £182,693.34 following a Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) hearing.

Det Con Mark Chesters said: "This was an extremely complicated and difficult investigation to crack, but I am delighted that thanks to the perseverance and tenacity of everyone who worked on the job, not only have these men been convicted but they also won’t see a penny of the money they made. In Mr Butt's case he will have to sell his home to satisfy his order.

"What we discovered was an orchestrated plot by these men to launder millions of pounds of the ill-gotten cash that organised crime groups were making from the drug trade. These criminal networks are driven by money, so by exposing the way they launder their money, we have significantly eroded their power base and made it very difficult for them to operate.

"Not only that, but we have seen a clear message to their criminal consorts who bank and launder money that not only we will take away their freedom, but we will also take away any profits they make."