A hotelier who used his business as a front for an international counterfeit goods and drug dealing operation has been told he will be jailed if he does not find nearly £200,000 by January 22 next year.
Douglas Piggot, 69, has been given three months to try and sell his home to hand over £197,572.43 to the Crown. He was initially ordered to pay £212,476.77 profit from his crime, but Perth Sheriff Court heard that the vast majority of that sum remains outstanding.
Second jail term deferred for payment
Piggot has already served a 46-week sentence for the offence, but now faces a second three-year term for failing to settle the proceeds of crime claim against him.
Sheriff William Wood told him: "I'm being asked to impose a period of imprisonment and to defer that for three months for payment to be made. Standing the nature of the criminal conduct, the orders made, and the outstanding payment I will impose a further period of imprisonment upon you for three years. I will defer that depending on settlement of the full amount. Given non-payment within three months you will then be taken into custody."
Hotel used for drugs and counterfeit goods
Piggot was helping his DJ and events organiser son Bracken Piggot run an illicit drugs trade from the family-run Dalhousie Hotel in Carnoustie, Angus. He admitted being concerned in the supply of cannabis and cocaine from the hotel in March 2020 and was jailed for 46 weeks. Around £20,000 worth of drugs and cash was recovered during the raid.
Fiscal depute Emma Farmer told the court: "The locus here is Dalhousie Hotel, Carnoustie, which is a licensed premises operating solely as a public bar.
"The accused was the premises manager and director of the operating company. At about 5.40pm on 11 March 2020, police officers executed a search warrant at the hotel. About 20 patrons were at the premises, including the accused's son Bracken Piggot. All were detained in terms of the Misuse of Drugs Act. During the search, officers recovered a key for the accused's vehicle. Inside the boot of the car, police found a bag of cannabis."
Boxes of "white lumps" were also found in the car and were later confirmed to be 0.7g of cocaine. Around £16,000 cash was also seized during the raid. The cannabis was valued at around £4,300. Ms Farmer said: "It was believed that the accused allowed his vehicle to be used for the purpose of enabling his son to sell cocaine and cannabis."
Bracken Piggot told police: "The drugs belong to me."
Son jailed and licence surrendered
Bracken Piggot, 29, had been jailed for 14 months for his part in the family's drug dealing enterprise.
Solicitor David Duncan, defending, confirmed Piggot Snr "knowingly" let his son use his car to sell drugs. "He accepts that by doing this, he became part of the process," Mr Duncan said. "I'm not suggesting that no longer makes this a serious matter but it is now considerably different from the charges he faced before in terms of gravity and timescale."
Piggot Snr also previously appeared at Forfar Sheriff Court to admit separate charges of stashing hundreds of fake designer items at the hotel. He was given a community payback order after he admitted having bogus Nike, Adidas, Apple and Jimmy Choo items at the hotel on the day after the drugs raid. Months after the raid, Piggot surrendered his premises licence and the Dalhousie Hotel ceased trading.
