Stripped of more than £100k

DESPITE being convicted of cultivating a relatively small amount of cannabis, Barry Steward was stripped of more than £100,000.

This was because under proceeds of crime laws, people convicted of certain offences, such as drug production, are viewed as having a “criminal lifestyle”.

Prosecutors can then look into the last six years of their life to see if any of their wealth or assets may have come from crime. This led to Steward being ordered to hand over £104,000.

The 65-year-old from Ellon, Aberdeenshire, admitted cultivating the illegal drug in his home between April 2007 and April 2008.

He was sentenced to 200 hours of community service.

Lindsey Miller said: “By virtue of his conviction for cultivating cannabis, Barry Steward triggered schedule 4 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.”