A BORDERS drug dealer has been stripped of £78,000 after prosecutors won a confiscation order.

Graeme White from Innerleithen was caught growing cannabis in May 2012.

It was estimated that the value of his plants was between £20,000 and £70,000.

And a further batch of herbal cannabis, worth between £4,000 and £14,000, was also retrieved by officers during the raid at Bridgegate Court in Peebles.

On April 17, this year, White pleaded guilty at Edinburgh Sheriff Court to cultivating and being concerned the supply of cannabis.

The 34-year-old was later sentenced to a four-month Restriction of Liberty Order, a 200-hour Community Payback Order and two years of supervision.

A spokesman for the Crown said: “On May 20, 2012, Police officers detected a strong smell of cannabis within a communal stairwell in Bridgegate Court, Peebles.

“The smell seemed to be strongest outside one door. The officers knocked on the door, and the accused answered and granted them permission to enter. The officers observed a room full of cannabis plants with lighting and a ventilation system in place.” Last Thursday White was also served with a £78,000 Confiscation Order.

Speaking after the conclusion of the case, Lindsey Miller, Procurator Fiscal for Organised Crime and Counter-Terrorism, said: “Thanks to the vigilance of the Police officers, a cannabis farm was uncovered that almost filled the premises in which it was constructed and consisted of more than 80 plants.

“Police and prosecutors have now dismantled the farm, brought Graeme White to justice and, after a thorough assessment of his financial records, secured the confiscation of £78,000 of criminal profit.

“The funds recovered will be re-invested in the community by Scottish Ministers, through the CashBack for Communities programme.”