A convicted drug dealer has been ordered to pay back thousands of pounds under the Proceeds of Crime Act
Peter Smith must hand over £39,020 after a confiscation order was made against him at Aberdeen Sheriff Court yesterday.
The 33-year-old, originally from Liverpool, had been part of an organised crime group who were actively supplying controlled drugs in the north-east.
He was caught by police when heroin with a street value of more than £12,000 was recovered from Allan Park, in the Cults area, where he had concealed it in undergrowth.
After admitting the offence last August, he was sentenced to two years, nine months imprisonment.
Lindsey Miller, procurator fiscal for organised crime & counter terrorism, said: “Peter Smith was involved in the distribution of heroin in the Aberdeen area.
“He faces not only a lengthy spell behind bars, but his finances for the past six years have also been carefully scrutinised to assess how much of his income he is unable to legally account for.
“He was found to have had illegitimate profit of £42,020 over this period, and today a confiscation order has been made for the entirety of his available assets, which total £39,020.
“Should we uncover further assets in the future, we can go back to the court and seek to raise the amount of the confiscation order up to the total amount of his criminal profit.
“The funds recovered will be added to the £88 million already gathered from Proceeds of Crime to be re-invested in the community by Scottish Ministers, through the CashBack for Communities programme.”