Paul Devlin / SNS Group via SNS GroupAn unemployed man who was found to be a drug trafficker with a £700,000 fortune after a bank raised concerns has been jailed for four years.
An investigation into Ross Black revealed he was not in employment since February 2021 and did not pay tax or national insurance since that time.
But it was discovered that Black had amassed more than £709,000 in cash, bank accounts and savings accounts.
Black, formerly of Dalgety Bay, in Fife, earlier admitted being concerned in the supply of the Class A drug cocaine between October 2022 and October 2023.
He also pleaded guilty to an offence under proceeds of crime legislation that he acquired and had possession of criminal property in the form of sums of money amounting to £709,623 on various occasions between April 15, 2021, and October 26, 2023.
Judge Lord Summers told him at the High Court in Edinburgh that he would have faced a six-year jail term for the offending, but that would be reduced to take into account his guilty pleas.
Advocate depute Naomei Warner said the former welder last declared income from employment in the tax year 2019-2020.
The prosecutor said that in July 2023, police received information that Black held money in a Monzo bank account.
She said: “Suspicions had been raised about the account activity as the accused opened that account on May 1, 2023. He had provided details that he was employed working on a production line within the manufacturing industry.
“In the two-month period, his account saw a turnover of approximately £43,724. The report was triggered as the turnover far exceeded the bank’s expectations of a person in the accused’s reported line of work,” she said.
Further enquiries revealed he also held a current account with another bank and multiple savings accounts.
The advocate depute told the court: “During the course of the investigation, it became apparent that the accused was receiving a constant stream of round figure sums, similar to £40, £80, £100, £200, etc., from around 300 individuals.”
She said that when payments were made, there were references to “gear”, “rent” and “flights”. She said in July 2023, further intelligence was received that Black was involved in the supply of cocaine in his local area.
A Crown Office serious organised crime unit decided a money laundering investigation should be carried out into Black and warrants were granted to search for evidence of drugs and proceeds of crime offences.
Police were on their way to execute warrants when they spotted Black driving a Nissan Juke and followed him to an address in Cardenden, in Fife.
He was detained and indicated that there were drugs belonging to him in the vehicle. Officers recovered 17 dealer bags of cocaine, worth about £1,500.
The advocate depute said the cocaine was tested and found to be 76 to 79% purity and was importation quality narcotics, which had not been adulterated.
The prosecutor said it was the opinion of expert drug officers that “this is demonstrative of the accused having access to, or involvement with, serious organised crime groups as access to import purity cocaine is restricted to such groups”.
Police also recovered a phone from Black, which was examined and found to have messages about the supply of cocaine and the exchange of money.
A search at his home address found more than £10,000 in cash.
The Crown is now seeking to recover crime profits from Black.
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