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Lanarkshire gangster caught in drugs cash swoop jailed

Submitted by admin on Friday, 5 March 2010

A Lanarkshire gangster caught with £120,000 in cash, believed to have come from drug dealing, has been jailed for three years.

William Thomson, 47, from Lanark, was arrested in October 2006 as part of a major operation by the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency.

Officers swooped after witnessing him transfer a holdall full of money to a car in Uddingston.

The cash was later stolen from Hamilton police station by a civilian worker.

Robert Moffat, who was a member of police support staff who looked after evidence, was found guilty of the theft and jailed for 22 months in November 2008.

Thomson, who has links to serious and organised crime, was found guilty of offences under the Proceeds of Crime Act (Poca) at Hamilton Sheriff Court.
The court heard that his arrest was part of a two-year investigation by the SCDEA, codenamed Acrid.

The operation focused on the activities of an organised crime group operating in the Lanarkshire and Glasgow areas.

Officers carrying out surveillance on Thomson saw him hand a bag to the occupant of Peugeot car in Uddingston.

Strathclyde Police later stopped the vehicle on the M74 near Bothwell and the holdall was found to contain cash totalling £120,000.

The money forensically examined and found to be heavily contaminated with heroin.

The SCDEA said about 7kg of the drug could be purchased with £120,000 and this would make approximately 70,000 street deals of heroin.

Illegal trafficking

Det Ch Supt Allan Moffat, from SCDEA, said: “As a result of our investigation a drug dealer is now behind bars where he belongs.

“The amount of cash that was seized provides an indication of the scale of illegal drug trafficking that he was responsible for.

“This individual is well-known to the local community for his links to serious organised crime and I am sure they will welcome justice being served.”

He added: “We use a variety of tactics and techniques to detect and disrupt the activities of serious organised crime groups, and today’s result demonstrates that we are committed to using the full capability of the Poca legislation in the support of prosecutions against criminals.”

Thomson was ordered to return to Hamilton Sheriff Court later this month for a confiscation hearing.