MORE than $58,000 has been seized from a suspected drug trafficker who claimed the cash was going to be used in a card game.
William Reid was caught with the money at Glasgow Central train station on December 3 last year.
British Transport Police discovered the cash, worth around £37,000, alongside £703.50 when they searched the 50-year-old's luggage. When officers asked Reid why he had the money, he replied he was "delivering it to a guy in Glasgow for a card game".
The Civil Recovery Unit successfully argued the money had been gained illegally and was intended for use in further criminal activity – specifically drug trafficking and organised crime.
A forfeiture order was issued at Glasgow Sheriff Court under the Proceeds of Crime Act and recovery officers were allowed to seize the cash.
Ruaraidh Macniven, head of the Civil Recovery Unit at the Crown Office, said: "William Reid was caught in suspicious circumstances with a substantial amount of cash on his person and could give no legitimate explanation for having it. William Reid is well known to the police both in Scotland and in Spain."
The cash was formally forfeited on November 4, and Reid then had a month to appeal the decision but he failed to do so.
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