Confusion reigned on Monday as a convicted Runcorn and Widnes loan shark was called to the dock for no known reason.
John Radford, 59, of Park Road, Great Sankey, appeared at Warrington Crown Court on Monday, with the hearing listed as relating to a 2012 appeal against Cheshire police.
Radford had lodged the case against Cheshire police over the seizure of £23,000 of cash from his Great Sankey mansion when it was raided in March that year.
The defendant was sent down for 30 months in 2013 for money lending charges amid accusations accepted by the judge that he had his two codefendants intimidate debtors.
He was also convicted of possessing £23,000 of criminal cash.
When sentenced in 2013, Radford was already serving eight years in prison for possession of a loaded pistol and ammunition found in his house during the raid.
Chester Crown Court heard his home had been fortified with an electric fence, dogs and a CCTV system that streamed images to a monitor in his bedroom.
The mystery of the purpose of Monday’s hearing thickened as Radford told the court he had already been ordered to cough up £750,000 of ill-gotten gains in a Proceeds Of Crime Act hearing in September this year.
No-one appeared to represent Radford.
Claire Jones, acting on behalf of Cheshire police, was among those who did not why the case was listed.
She said: “It may be that the appeal is going to be withdrawn.”
Judge Neil Flewitt, presiding, adjourned the case until Friday, November 27.
Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/