Lanarkshire businessman who made £7m from life of crime will only hand over £75k to authorities

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A Lanarkshire businessman who ran a drug smuggling operation with a former policeman’s help made an astonishing £7 million from his life of crime.Lawrence Phee, 51, of Airdrie, pocketed a total of £7,060,500 from his time as a criminal, the High Court in Edinburgh heard today.However, prosecutors agreed with Phee’s defence lawyers that the ex haulage firm boss only had £75,557.41 in assets available at this time.The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now.

Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you.Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android The news emerged following a hearing before judge Lord Sandison.Crown lawyers had brought a proceeds of crime action against Phee, who is serving eight and a half years for drug dealing.Prosecutors accepted an offer from Phee’s defence team to hand over the figure of £75,557.41.Phee was arrested after police broke up a major organised crime racket.The entrepreneur recruited former British Transport Police Inspector David Brown, 52, to help him run the operation.A court heard how Phee ran the racket from a base in Lanarkshire between November 1, 2017, and December 1, 2018.Prosecutor Alan Cameron said: "The drugs were transported from Alicante region of Spain to the UK with industrial machinery."These were most commonly generators and compressors.