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| Money laundering taxi boss jailed http://www.taxi-driver.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8646 |
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| Author: | Renfrewshire Driver [ Sat May 17, 2008 2:21 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Money laundering taxi boss jailed |
A taxi firm boss who was caught with £400,000 of "dirty money" has been jailed for three years. Peter Smith, 39, was convicted at the High Court in Glasgow of laundering the money, which police believe was the proceeds of drug dealing. Smith was arrested as part of Operation Folklore, Scotland's biggest ever police investigation into drug dealing and money laundering. He had claimed the money came from a secret deal to sell his taxi business. The court heard how detectives from the Scottish Crime and Drugs Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) swooped as Smith, from Castlemilk, drove his Mitsubishi Shogun in the south of Glasgow on 18 May 2006. Officers discovered a case stuffed with £389,035 of used bank notes inside the vehicle. Another bag containing £10,010 was also found. The SCDEA believed the cash was the proceeds of drug trafficking. Smith told the trial that he had the money after his business partner, Scott Thomson, bought out his share in the Domino Cars cab firm, also based in Castlemilk. Gangland figure Jamie Stevenson, 41, gave evidence during the trial after being called as a Crown witness. Stevenson, also known as "The Iceman", said he knew Smith, but added he had no idea if the cash found in his vehicle stemmed from crime. Stevenson and his stepson Gerard Carbin were jailed for a total of almost 19 years last April after they admitted laundering nearly £1m of drugs money following their arrest during the same police operation. Confiscation proceedings A notice under the Proceeds of Crime Act was served on Smith after the jury found him guilty of possessing and helping to launder a total of £389,045 of "dirty money". Passing sentence, Lord Woolman told Smith: "Money laundering facilitates crime. However, you are of previous good character and have the capacity to contribute positively to society in the future." Advocate Depute Peter Ferguson, prosecuting, said it is alleged Smith earned almost £1.8m from "general criminal conduct". The Crown moved to strip him of £950,000 of assets, believed to have been paid for through crime. However, a move to forfeit the £389,035 found in Smith's vehicle was withdrawn by the Crown after Mr Thomson lodged a claim saying the money was his. The matter will now be resolved by civil confiscation proceedings. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7385384.stm |
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