Landlord accepted £40,000 stolen whisky as rent payment

A landlord has been found guilty of being in possession of stolen goods, having accepted £40,000 worth of stolen whisky in lieu of a £1,400 rent payment.

Police investigating complaints that valuable whisky had been stolen from a storage vault in Grangemouth used by drinks giant Diageo discovered 57 bottles of rare malt hidden in the attic of Kenneth McLean’s home in Avonbridge, near Falkirk, following a tip off.

McLean, 48, was given a community sentence for possessing stolen goods after admitting reset, and was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work at Falkirk Sheriff Court.

The court was informed that the whiskies had gone missing from the bonded warehouse last July.

Nine bottles of 37-year-old Port Ellen, worth almost £2,500 each and seven bottles of Brora 1977 worth a total of £12,250 were among the whiskies recovered.

None of the bottles, which had a total value of £39,272, had been duty-paid and could not have been legally sold in the UK

Solicitor advocate Martin Morrow, defending McLean, said: “He acknowledges he has been extremely foolish.” 

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