A dog breeder who lived a secret double life as a drug dealer became a millionaire from a money spinning 19 month long crime career, a court has heard.

Scott Bennett, 43, was snared after police became aware of animal welfare concerns at his company Platinum Pet Care and K9 Fertility in Strathaven.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard how detectives discovered cocaine with a street value of £23,000 and cannabis worth £49,250 after arriving at Bennett’s office.

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The court also heard how Bennett had been using a phone which had the encrypted EncroChat app installed on it. The police analysed the device and discovered that he owed tens of thousands of pounds to other suspected drug dealers.

Bennett had earlier pleaded guilty to being involved in the drug trade between 2020 and 2021 and was given four years and eight months long jail term by Judge Lord Mulholland.

On Thursday, Bennett returned to the dock at the High Court in Edinburgh and saw his legal team settle a proceeds of crime action which had been brought against him by prosecutors.

Crown lawyer Desmond Cheyne told Judge Lord Lake that he and defence advocate Lynsey Morgan had agreed that Bennett had made a total of £1,476,657.45 from crime.

Mr Cheyne had also told the court that investigations had revealed that Bennett only had £87,500.18 available at this point in time.

Lord Lake then made an order for Bennett to hand over £87,500.18 to the authorities.

During earlier proceedings, the court heard how police had gathered incriminating evidence of Bennett’s activities through the EncroChat conversations.

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The chat app used by Bennett was popularised by gangsters across Europe who used it to conduct their business. However, it was disrupted in January 2020 after French and Dutch officers gained access to EncroChat’s servers.

The foreign law enforcement operation managed to access messages and information about criminals which was shared with the UK’s National Crime Agency which launched Operation Venetic. The court heard how one user on the app was called ‘Original Syrup’ and Scottish police managed to establish that this user was Scott Bennett.

Prosecutor Angela Gray told Judge Lord Mulholland about the messages sent by Bennett on the app.

She said the messages had been studied by specialist police drugs detectives who are called STOP officers.

She added: “Within the messages from both the accused’s EncroChat device and a conventional mobile telephone, there is evidence throughout the libel of a significant exchange of both drugs and money, all involving the accused.

“For example, there is a reference to Original Syrup owing £53,000 to somebody called landcleaner. “There is another conversation where Original Syrup offers cocaine for £40,000 and Original Syrup advises another user that he is in a deficit of £50,000.

“There is also a conversation in which the accused indicates that he owes more than 17 balls. “STOP officers have indicated that one ounce of cocaine would equate to one ball worth around £1,600 - 17 balls would amount to 476 grammes worth of cocaine that the accused owed which amounts to £27,200.”

The story emerged after Bennett, of Chapleton, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine and cannabis between March 2020 and October 2021.

He also admitted that his actions were aggravated by a connection to serious organised crime.

In December 2021, police launched an investigation after Bennett’s business in Strathaven was firebombed.

Pictures taken at the scene showed emergency services in attendance following the incident, with officers cordoning off the area while firefighters battled the flames.

Ms Gray told the court that Bennett had previous convictions for road traffic offences, possession of cocaine, possessing a knife and assault to severe injury and permanent disfigurement.

He also has previous convictions for fraud, robbery, and possession with intent to supply cannabis.

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Speaking about the circumstances leading to Bennett’s arrest, Ms Gray said: “The start date of the offences is March 28 2020 as that is the earliest date of the EncroChat messages recovered.

“The end date is the day the drugs were recovered at the accused’s business premises, October 21 2020.”

Bennett has six months to hand the sum over. Prosecutors can return to court if they discover any more of Bennett’s ill-gotten gains.