COPFS

Sectarian singing results in two year football banning order

At Airdrie Sheriff Court today, Scott Stark from Gartcosh was fined £200 and had a two year Football Banning Order imposed for offensive sectarian singing during a Clyde FC v Rangers game.

The court head that on Saturday 16 February this year during the match at Broadwood Stadium, uniformed police in the south stand observed Scott Stark singing songs including swearing and offensive sectarian lyrics.

Crown secures right to take future cash following animal cruelty conviction

Today saw the first ever Proceeds of Crime case in Scotland to target an accused convicted under the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2006.

On 5 August 2011, officers from the Scottish SPCA attended at a farm, near Airth, with a search warrant. There had been complaints of puppies being sold from the property in poor condition, and animals were discovered that needed immediate veterinary care, having been kept in squalid conditions without adequate bedding or food. A large number of the animals recovered were suffering from infestations and other illnesses consistent with negligence.

Charles Swan subsequently pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges in April 2012 and was sentenced to 8 months imprisonment.

The Crown then sought to recover from him the profits he had made from his illegal activities, and proceedings were raised against him under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

Ten years of the Proceeds of Crime Act nets more than £80 million

More than £12 million worth of proceeds of crime has been recovered in the past year, the Solicitor General Lesley Thomson, QC, announced today.

The specialist prosecutors of the Crown's Serious and Organised Crime Division secured confiscation orders worth over £8 million against convicted drug dealers, benefit fraudsters, and a variety of others including more than £4.3 million alone from those involved in the "black fish" cases.