DRUG DEALING DOG BREEDER MADE £1.5M
Mobster only had £87k in accounts
A DOG breeder who lived a secret double life as a drug dealer became a millionaire from his crime career, a court has heard.
Scott Bennett, 43, was snared after police became aware of animal welfare concerns at his company Platinum Pet Care and K9 Fertility in Strathaven, Lanarkshire.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard how detectives discovered cocaine with a street value of £23,000 and cannabis worth £49,250 after arriving at Bennett’s office.
The court also heard that analysis of Bennett’s phone revealed he owed tens of thousands of pounds to other suspected drug dealers.
He had earlier pled guilty to being involved in the drugs trade between 2020 and 2021 and was jailed for four years and eight months.
Yesterday, Bennett, of Chapelton, Lanarkshire, returned to the dock and saw his legal team settle a proceeds of crime action which had been brought against him by prosecutors.
Crown lawyer Desmond Cheyne told judge Lord Lake he and Bennett’s lawyer, Lynsey Morgan, agreed he had made a total of £1,476,657.45 from crime. The prosecutor also told the court that investigations had revealed Bennett only had £87,500.18 available.
Lord Lake then made an order for Bennett to hand over £87,500.18 to the authorities.
In December 2021, police launched an investigation after Bennett’s business was firebombed.
Officers cordoned off the area while firefighters battled the flames. Bennett had survived a shooting by gangland hitmen outside a vets in Rutherglen, near Glasgow, in December 2018. During earlier proceedings prosecutor Angela Gray told the court Bennett had previous convictions for road traffic offences, possession of cocaine, possessing a knife and assault to severe injury and permanent disfigurement.
He also has convictions for fraud, robbery, and possession with intent to supply cannabis.
Bennett has six months to hand the sum over. Prosecutors can return to court if they discover any more of Bennett’s ill-gotten gains.