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A HEANOR man arrested during a murder probe has been ordered to forfeit more than £3,000 allegedly earned from illegal firearms work.
Andrew Brough, 57, was a friend of Colin Cheetham, who gunned down Matlock taxi driver Stuart Ludlam and left his body in the boot of his cab in September last year.
Although Brough played no part in the murder, he admitted fitting a silencer to a gun for Cheetham, but maintained that he received no payment for it. Brough, who was in the same gun club as the convicted killer, was arrested during the murder investigation. His home was searched by police last October.
Caroline Sellars, for Derbyshire Police, said £4,100 seized from the property included £3,850 found in a cupboard that "appeared to be within an armoury".
She told a hearing at Chesterfield magistrates court: "Although Mr and Mrs Brough claimed the cash had come from the bank, the Constabulary do not accept this.
"The location of the cash and the high-risk enterprise which he appeared to be involved in, not withstanding his enthusiasm for weapons, makes it more likely the cash was a reward for his efforts in modifying weapons and holding illegal ammunition on behalf of others."
Ms Sellars applied for the money to be forfeited under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
District Judge John Friel agreed Brough had received cash from illegal business involving firearms. He ordered Brough, of Hunt Avenue, Heanor, to forfeit £3,100 seized by police, with £200 costs.
Brough was jailed for 21 months in July after pleading guilty to six charges of possessing ammunition without authority. He has since been released on licence.
Cheetham, 61, of Waingroves Road, Ripley, received a life sentence, with a 30-year minimum term, for the murder of Mr Ludlam, a 43-year-old father-of-three from Darley Dale.
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