Addict told to hand over £12k drugs cash

A FORMER circus worker has been forced to surrender £12,000 after a sheriff ruled that the cash was set to be used to buy drugs to sell in Edinburgh.

Heroin addict Wayne Holloway, from Leith, was pursued through the courts to have the money, which was found by police in his car, seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Holloway claimed that the cash was compensation he received after being involved in a car accident.

Sheriff Neil McKinnon, however, ordered that the money be handed over to the authorities after ruling that the funds were "obtained through unlawful conduct, in particular from being concerned in the supply of controlled drugs".

Holloway and another man, James O'Donnell, were travelling on the A702 towards England when his car was pulled over by police near Peebles on July 28 2008.

Officers noticed a large quantity of drug paraphernalia on the vehicle's back seat.

The officers carried out a search of the car and discovered the large amount of cash concealed inside a wash bag.

A small amount of heroin, was also found on O'Donnell.

Holloway admitted that the cash belonged to him and said the bag contained 6000. Officers from the Financial Investigation Unit at Lothian and Borders Police later counted the money at Fettes HQ and found there was 12,120.

A check of the force's intelligence database showed information had been received that Holloway and O'Donnell were involved in sourcing drugs in England at cheaper prices before bringing the substances back for sale in the Capital.

During his interview, Holloway maintained that the cash had come from a compensation payout, adding that the trip to England was intended to buy a vintage car.

But Holloway was unable to give a surname, address or phone number for the seller.

During a hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court aimed at determining whether the cash should be permanently confiscated, Holloway said he was unemployed but derived extra income from selling on items he bought cheaply at auctions.

The court heard that Holloway had become involved with travellers when he was around 17, moving all over Europe to work with circuses and fairs.

Holloway also said that he did not "believe in banks", and kept his money in a safe kept in his bedroom.

As well as claiming that 6200 from the seized cash came from his compensation award for the 2004 crash, Holloway alleged that other money had come from carrying out car repairs.

In his ruling, Sheriff McKinnon said he found Holloway to be an "unimpressive witness" whose evidence was "unconvincing and implausible".

Sheriff McKinnon ordered that the seized cash be handed over the Civil Recovery Unit.