A pair of criminals who grew £145,000 worth of drugs on an Angus farm are being chased for their cash.
Court action is being taken in an attempt to confiscate cash from Manny Naveed, 32, and Alan Fraser, 42, who were jailed in June after police found a cannabis factory at Birkenbush Farm, just north of Forfar.
There were more than 300 plants on the site, where generators were running 24 hours a day. The drugs had an estimated value of between £48,640 and £145,920.
The men are now set to face a Proceeds of Crime hearing at the High Court in Edinburgh, when the Crown will make moves to confiscate cash the duo made from their criminal activities.
The hearing, set for January 12, will determine the sum of money the Crown is looking to seize.
The Crown Office will trawl through financial records for the pair from the last six years.
A spokesman said he couldn’t comment until the case is complete.
Naveed and Fraser, originally from Motherwell, had rented a large shed at the farm, close to the A90 Dundee to Aberdeen dual carriageway, for £600 a month after its farmer owners placed a classified advert in a farming trade paper.
However, the farmers were unaware of the activity that was taking place in the shed.
At one point, one of them had a sawn-off shotgun held to his neck by sidekicks of the gangsters as they warned him against going to police.
Chief Inspector Gordon Milne, area commander for Angus, has welcomed the Proceeds of Crime move.
He said: “I think confiscation bids are excellent in terms of dealing with organised criminals.
“The Crown Office goes after assets amassed over a number of years and this really hits the criminals, as well as helping the money go back into the community.
“A lot of them get sent to prison for five or six years and don’t bat an eyelid. But if you take away their money, it really hits them hard.”