A collection of artwork seized from notorious Edinburgh gangland boss Mark Richardson has been sold for more than £3,000 in a series of clandestine auctions.
Signed prints by the renowned Scottish artist Peter Howson made up the bulk of the money reclaimed by the Civil Recovery Unit following the cocaine kingpin’s conviction on firearms charges.
Investigators raided property owned by Richardson - who was jailed for eight years and nine months in 2018 - amid claims 12 pieces and one silver watch had been purchased with ill-gotten gains.
READ MORE: Edinburgh child abuser threatened to kill victim as sentence branded 'pathetic'
The art was passed to an anonymous auction house to be sold off last year, with money raised going into the Scottish Consolidated Fund - operated by the Scottish Government.
Edinburgh Live can now reveal its coffers were boosted by a total of £3,460 after the works went under the hammer in secret last year.
Two works by Howson, entitled ‘FETCH!’ and ‘WOMAN & DOG’, both rendered in pastel secured sale prices of £1,200 each, while a signed lithographic print of ‘Road to Vitez’ and ‘The Negotiators’ by the same artist achieved £170 and £160 respectively.
A silver men’s TAG Heuer Aquaracer Watch - which can be found for up to £4,000 when new - was sold for a relatively modest £600 alongside an oil on canvas depiction of the three wise monkeys, which raked in just £50.
The remainder of the works, a collection of signed prints by artist Graham McKean, were bundled together as a “job lot” and made £80 at auction.
Previously, “listed assets” could only be targeted through the Court of Session if they were worth £10,000 or more, however the 2017 Criminal Finances Act brought the threshold down to just £1,000.
In order to be seized, there must be “reasonable grounds” to believe they had been ‘obtained or intended for use in unlawful conduct’.
The Civil Recovery Unit has reclaimed more than £200,000 since the powers came into force four years ago.
Richardson was one of nine men jailed for a total of almost 90 years in January 2018 over his role in "Scotland's most sophisticated crime group".
Officers found a Glock handgun loaded with 15 bullets when they arrested him near Glasgow in 2016 and helicopter footage released by police later showed him driving recklessly as he tried to evade officers.
He admitted firearms offences, however his not guilty plea of attempting to murder Ross Monaghan was accepted.
It is understood the auction house responsible for the sales did not want to be disclosed for ‘security’ reasons.
Sign up for Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox
Anne-Louise House, Head of the Civil Recovery Unit, said: “Mark Richardson bought these items with money he made from his criminal lifestyle.
“Civil recovery is an important tool for disrupting crime in Scotland and I sincerely hope it sends a strong message to others that we will do all in our power to recover assets bought with criminal gains.
“I am delighted these items have now been sold and the money can be put to better use, benefiting Scotland’s communities through the CashBack for Communities programme.”
