A Perthshire drug dealer who claimed benefits while living a lavish lifestyle has been ordered to pay back almost £130,000.
Gavin Blair made vast sums from peddling cocaine and farming cannabis over a six-year period at a converted farmhouse near Errol.
Two years ago, police raided the East Leys property and found class A cocaine worth about £2,000 and cannabis with a street value of nearly £15,000.
Blair was jailed for three years in 2013, after he admitted his involvement in the local drugs trade. He has since completed his sentence.
The Crown Office launched proceeds of crime action to claw back nearly £400,000, the amount 38-year-old Blair was thought to have made at the height of his criminal career.
He returned to Perth Sheriff Court on Friday and was hit with a confiscation order for £129,908, the amount prosecutors said his estate is now worth.
Lindsey Miller, procurator fiscal for organised crime and counter terrorism, said: “Gavin Blair faced the seizure of £17,000 of drugs, years behind bars, and a significant disruption to his criminal business.
“However, the case against him did not stop there. His conviction opened him up to a full forensic investigation of his accounts going back to 2007 and today we have secured an order for the entirety of his estate.”
She added: “Should further assets be uncovered, we will seek to raise the order until he has repaid all of his illegal earnings.”
At the time of his sentencing, Blair’s co-accused, Peter Ritchie, admitted producing cannabis at an address in Bridge of Earn and was jailed for 18 months.
Both men had been caught running cannabis farms with a combined total of nearly 100 plants worth up to £40,000.
Blair had been claiming benefits at the time, despite living in a plush farmhouse worth more than £350,000, which he had fitted with a hot tub.
Perth Sheriff Court previously heard Blair had even managed to claim a £2,000 tax rebate during his drug-dealing operation.
The Crown alleged he had bought a string of cars, including Range Rover vehicles, while operating at least eight separate bank accounts.