Murderer's crime profits seized

Victor Yuill's body was discovered at a yard he owned in Lanarkshire

A convicted murderer has been ordered to hand over almost £160,000 in crime profits.

Cannabis grower James Duncan ordered the "execution" of Lanarkshire salvage yard owner Victor Yuill in January 2007.

The 61-year-old, from East Kilbride, was found guilty of the murder at the High Court in Edinburgh, even although he was not at the scene.

He has been given six months to pay back the proceeds of crime cash.

Duncan was jailed for life in December 2007 and ordered to serve at least 17 and a half years in prison before becoming eligible to apply for parole.

He was also convicted of being concerned in the supply of cannabis between 2005 and 2007 and was given a concurrent five-year jail term for the drugs crime.

The Crown also served Duncan with papers seeking to seize crime profits of £298,000 at the end of his trial - even though he claimed that he was broke.

'Realisable assets'

Duncan was brought back to the High Court in Edinburgh on Monday as the confiscation process continued and a judge was told during a brief hearing that a settlement had been reached.

Advocate depute Barry Divers asked Lord Hardie to record the proceeds of Duncan's "general criminal conduct" at £740,075.48.

The prosecutor sought a confiscation order to be made in the sum of £159,248.66 against Duncan.

He said: "That represents his realisable assets."

Duncan's assets included properties in Hamilton and Blantyre and money held in Halifax accounts.

Father-of-three Mr Yuill was shot at his salvage yard in Rigside, Lanarkshire, by gunman John Graham, 22, who was given a life sentence and jailed for a minimum of 18 years.

The exact reason for the assassination remained a mystery but the trial heard of disputes over lucrative "cannabis farms", where harvests of the drug could fetch hundreds of thousands of pounds.