A MAN has been ordered to hand over £34,350 after police suspected he was acting as a drugs mule.
Andrew Marc Ould, 25, from Marford, Wrexham, did not contest the order, which was handed down at Dumfries Sheriff Court.
Dumfries & Galloway police officers carrying out routine traffic duties on the A74(M) near to Lockerbie on 14 September 2011 when they stopped Ould’s car.
Officers stopped Ould’s car near Lockerbie
Inside the car, they found packages containing the cash.
The circumstances indicated that Ould was acting as a drugs courier and “cash mule”. It is suspected that the cash represented payment for a consignment of controlled drugs that had earlier been delivered to the Glasgow area by Ould.
Deputy Chief Constable Mike McCormick of Dumfries & Galloway Police said: “For many years now the force has had a very good track record in making seizures of both drugs and money connected with illegal drugs trade from criminals travelling to and from Scotland on the A74(M).
“We robustly police this arterial route through Dumfries and Galloway and will continue to do so in order to tackle this vile trade head on.
Ruaraidh Macniven, Head of the Civil Recovery Unit at COPFS, said: “This case shows very clearly how the cash forfeiture provisions of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 can be used to disrupt drug dealers.
“The case also shows the firm determination of the Civil Recovery Unit to make Scotland a hostile environment for criminals.”
