Son of former football club chief lands £25,000 drug-dealing bill
A JUDGE has ordered the drug-dealing son of a former football club boss to hand over £25,000 under proceeds of crime legislation.
Conor Bennett, 24, was ordered to pay the cash following a hearing at the High Court in Edinburgh yesterday.
Bennett, whose father Graeme is the former vice chairman of Inverness Caledonian Thistle, was jailed for five years and nine months at Livingston High Court in April 2016.
He and his associate Daniel Hunter, 26, were jailed for being concerned in the supply of ecstasy, cocaine and cannabis between February 2014 and April 2015.
The pair, both of Inverness, pleaded guilty to drugs offences earlier this year at the High Court in Glasgow.
Sentence had been deferred to Livingston for the court to obtain reports.
Hunter was handed a fouryear sentence for his role in the operation.
During proceedings, the court heard how the pair were arrested after police obtained Hunter’s phone in relation to a different matter.
After examining the handset, officers found texts and conversations on social media site Snapchat which revealed the men’s involvement in the drugs trade.
Bennett was accused of masterminding the drug trafficking scheme with deals set up over social media.
It was reported Bennett had been a £5,000-a-month offshore worker who had once been a promising golfer.
But it emerged he had been locked up for 40 months in 2010 for another class A drugs crime.
Bennett appeared to be in tears as he was led handcuffed to the cells.
Prosecutor David Taylor told the court: “Those messages – in the format of texts, social media and instant messages – provide a history of business transactions.
“This is in terms of sourcing, advertisement of product, ratings, sub dealers, orders, customer service and debt recovery.”
Police eventually arrested the pair and brought the pair to court.
Prosecution lawyer Barry Divers told judge Lord Stewart he and defence advocate Ronnie Renucci had agreed Bennett had made £80,000 during his time as a criminal.
However, the court heard Bennett only had £25,000 in assets currently available.
Lord Stewart agreed to authorise the arrangement ordering him to hand over £25,000 under proceeds of creme legislation and gave Bennett six months to pay the sum.