Drug trafficker ordered to repay £1m made from serious organised crime

A drug trafficker caught with so much money it took police three days to count it has been ordered to repay more than £1 million.

Steven Black was sentenced to nine years in prison in December 2023 after admitting being concerned in the supply of cocaine and cannabis.

The 51-year-old, from Airdrie, also pled guilty to being in possession of £929,970 of criminal property.

Black was jailed along with two other men following a police raid at various addresses between Airdrie and Shotts in Lanarkshire.

More than £1m in cash was seized along with eight kilos of cannabis worth around £30,000 and 350 grams of cocaine worth around £7,500.

Black was found with so much money that it took police officers three days to count it.

Messages on a mobile phone from Black to criminal associates demonstrated his involvement in serious organised crime.

The conversations detailed the sale and supply of drugs valued at tens of thousands of pounds.

A raid on his sister’s house also unearthed a significant amount of money.

At the High Court in Edinburgh on Monday, the court made a confiscation order in the sum of £1,184,431, representing all the money he amassed through recorded criminal conduct.

This sum comprises £929,970 in cash and includes funds held in bank accounts and equity in heritable properties.

Black has been given six months to pay the confiscation order.

Sineidin Corrins, procurator Fiscal at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said: “This confiscation underscores the fact that prosecution of those who profit from crime does not stop at criminal conviction and sentencing.

“Even after that conviction was secured, the Crown pursued Proceeds of Crime action to ensure the funds Steven Black obtained illegally were confiscated.

“Proceeds of Crime orders are a vital tool to disrupt crime in Scotland and one of the many ways we can target those who try to profit from illegal activity.

“The money recovered is reinvested into our communities through the Cashback for Communities programme.”