Drugs suspect cleared in Marbella but could face extradition to Scotland

Crown Office and the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency are looking at ways of bringing the alleged money-man Ian Donaldson back to Scotland. The authorities are thought to be reviewing evidence from the Spanish case to see if any charges can be brought in a Scottish court. If they decide to proceed, they could seek high-living Donaldson’s extradition from Spain. A Crown Office spokesman said: “We note the decision of the Spanish court and are considering that and other matters in consultation with our colleagues in the SCDEA.” Detective Chief Superintendent Tony Mole, head of investigations at the SCDEA, added: “With our Spanish colleagues, we pieced together a complex web of evidence that we felt collectively set out a strong case. “We will continue to actively target criminal networks who prey on the health and wealth of hard-working people in Scotland, and use every means at our disposal to put them out of business and ensure they are brought to justice.” The court in Madrid heard that former amateur racing driver Donaldson, 32, enjoyed a lavish lifestyle on the Costa del Sol. He also had a £1million villa in Tenerife and a fleet of luxury cars including Ferraris, Hummers and a Porsche – all seized by the courts in Spain. The prosecution alleged that he made millions from drug smuggling but after he was cleared last week he will now have £7.2million of assets returned to him. Donaldson, who drove a distinctive orange Lamborghini on the track, will be given back his properties as well as his flash motors – a Ferrari F430 Spider, a Ferrari 599GTB Fiorano, two Hummers, a Porsche Cayenne turbo, an Audi Q7 4x4, two BMWs and a Mercedes 63 AMG. He and three other Scots – including alleged ringleader Ronald O’Dea, 45 – were cleared of all charges last week by a panel of judges sitting at the National Court in Madrid. Londoner Stephen Brown, 45, known as “The Big Man”, was jailed for seven years for drug-trafficking. In a written statement the judges ruled: “Although there are indications of a clandestine activity and of links between the accused, these factors are not sufficient to establish, beyond reasonable doubt, that the accused took part in the trafficking operation that Brown was carrying out.” The links highlighted by the judges included “security measures, conversations in encrypted language, abundant mobile telephones and, especially in the case of Donaldson, significant assets in Spain which cannot be accounted for”. The Costa gang – which included fellow Scots James MacDonald, 62, and Mary Hendry, 61 – were held after a lorry containing a shipment of speed bound for Scotland was intercepted in Oxfordshire in 2008. Glaswegians MacDonald and O’Dea had spent three years on remand in a Spanish jail on drug-trafficking charges. Speaking outside the court, MacDonald said: “They took away three years of my life despite having no evidence against me.” Hendry, from Hamilton, had been accused of helping Donaldson cover up the source of his wealth but was cleared of money-laundering. She said: “This has been hanging over me for two years and I never even knew Ian Donaldson.” Donaldson was arrested in Scotland on an international warrant in March 2009 and was extradited to Madrid four months later. He spent more than a year on remand before being released on bail of £135,000. His fortified home in Renton, Dunbartonshire, was raided by the SCDEA in July 2009. Londoner Deborah Learmouth, 49, accused of organising travel arrangements for the gang, was also cleared of drug-trafficking. Two other defendants – Londoner Brian Rawlings, 66, and Joseph Campbell, 52 – failed to show at the trial.