Ex-Celtin £45ktheft
Head storeman caught red handed on CCTV
A shamed ex-worker at an East Kilbride engineering firm has admitted stealing at least £45,000 worth of goods from his former employer.
Ex-Celtic player, Dugald McCarrison, was caught on CCTV stashing parts for the oil and gas industry from Kelvin-based Valve Components Ltd into his car after a routine stock check uncovered missing items.
McCarrison, from Strathaven, was head storeman at the global firm when he carried out the thefts.He made his debut for the Hoops in 1987 but failed to secure a regular spot in the team before leaving in 1993.
A shamed ex-employee of an East Kilbride engineering firm admitted stealing at least £45,000 worth of parts while working as a storeman.
Former Celtic midfielder Dugald McCarrison (46), whose career ended in the 90s after a shocking injury, pled guilty to stealing components from Valve Components Limited based in Kelvin Industrial Estate between March 13 and July 31 last year.
Hamilton Sheriff Court was told by the prosecution on Friday that 70 components – known as stems which are used in the oil and gas industry were stolen by the thief amounting to a loss of up to £100,000 by the company.
Although he admitted the theft the number of parts stolen was questioned by McCarrison’s defence.
However, despite the stems being worth up to £1500 each bungling McCarrison, of 29 Viewmount Crescent, Strathaven, only managed to get £200 for each part at a local scrapyard, the court heard.
He was snared after a stock check along with CCTV footage caught him red handed.
Fiscal depute Michael McIntosh said: “The accused during the time libelled was the head storeman at Valve Components Limited who manufacture specialist items for the oil and gas industry.
“There was a stock check by a manager on August 4, 2015, which disclosed seven stems were missing.
“The manager then checked records and CCTV footage and discovered the items were delivered on July 30 after which there was no further record of them.
“This lead to another stock check being carried out over a longer period of time which uncovered 70 stems were missing, inclusive of the seven originally noticed.
“The stems are specialist engineering components which are generally made to order.
“They are valued at £1000 to £1500 per stem.”
The fiscal went on: “Once this was brought to the attention of management police were contacted and CCTV provided which showed the accused on four separate occasions carrying items from where the stems were kept and putting them in his own personal vehicle.
“As part of the investigation scrap yards were contacted and one particular local scrap yard had a number of these particular items in stock.
“Employees attended and identified 11 stems as being the stolen items by matching up serial numbers.
“These 11 parts were recovered and returned to the company.”
During questioning by police the former footballer admitted the theft but insisted the number was around 30.
However, subsequent investigations corroborated the 70 stems the company said were stolen, added the fiscal.
He also said while the estimated loss to the company was between £70,000 and £100,000 with no further stems being recovered, the monetary benefit to McCarrison was significantly less, at around the scrap metal value of around £200 per stem.
Sheriff Thomas Millar assigned a proof of mitigation for August 12 to establish the number of items stolen.
McCarrison made his debut for the Hoops in 1987 but failed to secure a regular spot in the team before leaving in 1993.
He also played for Kilmarnock, Hamilton Accies, Ipswich and Darlington before breaking his leg in a horror incident during a friendly game in a gala day tournament in Lesmahagow.