A Scottish landlord is ruing the day he accepted £40k of valuable stolen whiskey from a tenant who couldn’t pay the rent. That slight error of judgement has led to a community order for possessing stolen goods.
Whiskey Worth £40k Hidden in Landlord’s Loft
The landlord was caught with 57 bottles of malt whiskey hidden in his loft. The police received a tip-off after a collection of valuable whiskey had been stolen from a bonded warehouse in Grangemouth last July. The informant told police that the landlord had a stash of whiskey in his loft, and suggested they take a look.
Police Acted on a Tip-Off from an Informant
When the police arrived, they found nine bottles of Port Ellen and seven bottles of Brora 1977, which had a combined value of £14,700. There were more stolen bottles recovered from the attic, but sadly for the landlord, none of them had been duty-paid, so he couldn’t have sold them on even if he had wanted to.
Initially, the landlord told officers he had invested in the whiskey collection for cash, with the intention of selling them on in ten years for a profit. However, he eventually admitted that he had agreed to take the bottles in lieu of rent, and had ignored the fact they were obviously stolen.
“I’ve Been Foolish,” says Landlord
The landlord’s solicitor told the court that his client acknowledged he had been stupid. No doubt the court agreed.
