An Angus hotel boss caught with a stockpile of fake branded goods has now admitted his role in his son’s £20,000 drugs enterprise.
Douglas Piggot appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and pled guilty to being concerned in the supply of cannabis and cocaine at the family-run Dalhousie Hotel, Carnoustie.
He was arrested when police raided the High Street establishment in March 2020.
They uncovered £16,000 of cash inside the hotel, plus thousands of pounds worth of drugs in the boot of 66-year-old Piggot’s BMW, parked outside.
Piggot’s son, DJ and events promoter Bracken, was jailed in 2021 for his role in the illicit operation.
His father now faces prison after he admitted allowing his son to use the car to sell the class A and B substances.
Earlier this month, Piggot Snr appeared at Forfar Sheriff Court and admitted separate charges of stashing hundreds of fake designer items – including bogus Nike, Adidas, Apple and Jimmy Choo – at the hotel on March 12 2020, the day after the drugs raid.
Drugs found in car of Carnoustie Hotel boss
Sheriff William Wood deferred sentence on the drug dealing charges.
He told Piggot: “I’m going to allow you to remain at liberty meantime.
“However, all sentencing options remain open and you shouldn’t read too much into the fact you are being released in the interim.”
Fiscal depute Emma Farmer told the court: “The locus here is Dalhousie Hotel, Carnoustie, which is a licensed premises operating solely as a public bar.
“The accused is the premises manager and director of the operating company.
“At about 5.40pm on March 11 2020, police officers executed a search warrant at the hotel.
“About 20 patrons were at the premises, including the accused’s son Bracken Piggot.
“All were detained in terms of the Misuse of Drugs Act.”
Ms Farmer said: “During the search, officers recovered a key for the accused’s vehicle.
“Inside the boot of the car, police found a bag of cannabis.”
Boxes of “white lumps” were also found in the car and were later confirmed to be 0.7g of cocaine.
Around £16,000 cash was also seized.
The cannabis was valued at around £4,300.
Ms Farmer said: “It was believed that the accused allowed his vehicle to be used for the purpose of enabling his son to sell cocaine and cannabis.”
Bracken Piggot told police: “The drugs belong to me.”
All sentencing options available
Solicitor David Duncan, defending, confirmed Piggot “knowingly” let his son use his car to sell drugs.
“He accepts that by doing this, he became part of the process.
“I’m not suggesting that no longer makes this a serious matter but it is now considerably different from the charges he faced before in terms of gravity and timescale.”
Mr Duncan said: “Mr Piggot is aware that all potential disposals are available to the court.”
Piggot, of East Haven, near Carnoustie, will be sentenced on October 30, two weeks after he is due to be sentenced at Forfar for possession of the fake branded goods.
His 29-year-old son pled guilty to a similar charge at Dundee Sheriff Court in August 2021.
Months after the raid, Douglas Piggot – who has previously appeared on court papers as Piggott – surrendered his premises licence and the Dalhousie Hotel ceased trading.
Last summer, plans were approved to convert the building into holiday flats.
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