A drugs baron has lost his luxury Harden farmhouse after being ordered to hand over £1.2 million amassed through his criminal empire.

Raymond Spencer, already serving 12 years in jail, faces the sentence being almost doubled if he does not cough up the cash.

While the 50-year-old did not live in the property set in Harden's picturesque moorland, it fell among his portfolio of assets bought through the proceeds of crime.

Spencer was jailed in May for importing almost 200 kilos of cannabis as well as supplying and conspiring to supply the drug.

He had been arrested in 1997 for trafficking but was released on bail and continued running his smuggling 'business'.

The following year he was locked up again when an undercover police 'sting' caught him arranging the importation of almost £1 million of cannabis.

Again Spencer was released on bail and, just three months later, fled to Northern Cyprus in a bid to evade justice.

Following three years on the run, he was deported to Turkey after being caught using a false passport - and then flown back to Britain to answer the original charges.

A spokesman for the National Crime Squad (NCS) - which teamed up with West Yorkshire officers to jail Spencer - told how a judge had ordered him to pay a total of £1,216,478.10.

About £750,000 of money and assets has already been seized - including £200,000 cash buried in his garden - leaving the rest to be found from his remaining capital.

The NCS spokesman said that Spencer's list of investments included the detached Harden farmhouse, in 30 acres of land, a building plot at Goole and another property in rural Nottinghamshire.

The spokesman said: "He has 14 days to pay the remainder owing, which is very unlikely, and then receivers will be appointed to take control of his estate.

"If the total amount is not paid in full, he faces the possibility of a further ten-year prison sentence."

When Spencer was finally brought to justice, Detective Chief Inspector Eric Lodge, of the National Crime Squad, told how he had created 'a whole new life' on the run, living a lavish lifestyle on his drugs earnings.

He said: "Spencer was a drugs dealer with connections throughout the world.

"He thought he could evade prosecution for the illegal trade he was so heavily involved in."