£4,400 Confiscated from Cocaine Dealer
CROWN OFFICE AND PROCURATOR FISCAL'S SERVICE
NEWS RELEASE
20 FEBRUARY 2012
£4,400 CONFISCATED FROM COCAINE DEALER
At Edinburgh Sheriff Court today, a Confiscation Order for £4,444.80 was made against Bernard Flanagan (DOB 17.04.86).
Flanagan, from Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, had previously been found guilty of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs, namely cocaine, between May 2007 and October 2008. He was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment.
Lindsey Miller, Head of the Serious and Organised Crime Division (SOCD) and the current POCA champion, said:
"Bernard Flanagan was involved in a serious and organised crime group dealing Class A drugs in Edinburgh. He had a 'hands-off' middle-management role in the operation, which saw up to a million pounds of cocaine seized within a year.
"Drug dealing is classed as a 'lifestyle offence' under the Proceeds of Crime Act, this meant the court could look at his income over the six years' prior to his arrest and found that £86,292 could not be accounted for legitimately. Today's confiscation order for £4,444.80 represents the figure available to us at this time.
"The powers we have under the Proceeds of Crime Act have allowed us yet again to disrupt the activities of someone involved in the drug trade, and prevented them from re-investing their profits. We will continue to use this power at every opportunity. In particular if Mr Flanagan obtains any cash or assets in the future the Crown can ask the court to recalculate the confiscation order up to the value of £86,000."
Ends
Notes for Editors
1. At the High Court in Livingston on 15 October 2010, Bernard Flanagan was found guilty of a contravention of Section 4(3)(b) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, for being concerned in the supply of cocaine. He was convicted by a majority jury after a trial lasting four weeks. Surveillance evidence linked him to a number of individuals who subsequently had drugs or cash recovered from them. He appealed against his conviction but this was refused on 23 August 2011.
2. Brief summary of case: Between July 2007 and October 2008 Lothian and Borders police targeted what they understood to be a serious organised crime group supplying cocaine in and around Edinburgh. A year-long surveillance operation resulted in a number of arrests and subsequent convictions for drugs offences. Surveillance on the accused Flanagan deemed him to play a middle management hands-off role, he was leading a fairly extravagant lifestyle. Flanagan was arrested on 2 October 2008 at his home address at 19 Almond Crescent, Bonnyrigg. During the year-long operation a number of seizures of cocaine - totalling around 17 kilos with a cumulative street value of between £474,000 and £1million - were recovered.
3. A Confiscation Order is an order made by the court following criminal conviction, to pay a fixed sum of money from the proceeds of crime. An application for confiscation is one of the tools at the disposal of the Crown under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and Proceeds of Crime (Scotland) Act 1995.
4. The Serious and Organised Crime Division works together with colleagues at the Civil Recovery Unit, and other law enforcement agencies, such as the Scottish Drugs Enforcement Agency, UK Police Forces, HM Revenue and Customs and Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) to identify and recover the proceeds of crime.
5. Proceeds of Crime legislation is also used by the Civil Recovery Unit acting on behalf of Scottish Ministers. The Civil Recovery Unit investigates and recovers the property realised through criminal activity of individuals, in the civil courts without the need for criminal conviction.
6. Since 2003, the use of the Proceeds of Crime Act in Scotland has allowed over £60million to be recovered from criminals. Money recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act is invested by Scottish Ministers. More than ?44m of these proceeds have been put to excellent use by investing in a wide range of sporting, cultural, educational and mentoring activities for children and young people through the CashBack for Communities programme. Since the programme's inception in 2007, over 600,000 young people across Scotland have benefited. Details can be found at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/cashback
7. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is a committed member of the Scottish Government's Serious Organised Crime Task Force. The Task Force has a remit to pursue serious organised crime in all its forms by bringing together all agencies involved in tackling organised crime groups. Task Force members include the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, the Lord Advocate, representatives from COPFS, the Scottish Government, ACPOS, SCDEA, HMRC, SOCA and SPS. Details of the work of the Taskforce can be accessed here: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Justice/crimes/organised-crime.
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