On 10 May, a Confiscation Order for £81,744.68 was made against a Scottish man, Mr Paul Ross. Mr Ross was previously sentenced at Elgin Sheriff Court on 15 July 2009 to four years imprisonment, after he pleaded guilty to the charge of producing and being in possession of a controlled Class A drug, Methylamphetamine. The relevant sections of the criminal law are Section 4(1), 4(2)(a), 5(1), 5(2) and Part 1 of Schedule 2 to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
A Confiscation Order, such as the one granted in this case, is an order that can be made by a criminal court following a conviction. It orders the convicted person to pay a fixed sum of money which have been acquired as proceeds of crime. The application was made by the Crown under both the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and Proceeds of Crime (Scotland) Act 1995.
Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) Proceeds of Crime Act Champion and Area Procurator Fiscal for Glasgow, Lesley Thomson, said:
"Whether they are involved in serious and organised crime or any other criminality we will continue to use Proceeds of Crime legislation to target anyone who would seek to benefit from illegal activity.
"In addition to any other sentence the court has imposed we will disrupt their activities, prevent them reinvesting their profits, and wherever possible make it very difficult for them to carry out their criminal enterprises."
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