A Uddingston shopkeeper was jailed for 32 months after his premises were used in a £333,000 fraud targeting an elderly pensioner.
Mohammed Asif’s corner shop received two bank cards belonging to 81-year-old William Thomson, who had been duped into believing he was acting on instructions from TSB Bank after being told there was suspicious activity on his account in January 2024.
In reality, the caller – posing as “David Gray” – was a fraudster.
Fiscal Julianna Keenan said: “In the belief he was acting on instruction from the bank, Mr Thomson transferred a total of £333,292.86 out of his bank account to these new accounts.
“The people who spoke to Mr Thomson on the phone did not work for TSB Bank and have never been identified.”
The stolen cash was used to purchase almost £200,000 worth of Apple products and more than £40,000 of gold from precious metals dealer Chards.
Mr Thomson was instructed to send the bank cards – and later packages of gold – to Asif’s shop in Uddingston.
Police raided the store on February 20, 2024 after the pensioner grew suspicious and contacted officers. Asif was found inside and a phone seized which contained messages about selling Apple phones and computers for large sums.
Asif, who admitted being involved in an arrangement for the use of criminal property, claimed he “facilitated the acts as a middle man” and had limited understanding of the wider scheme.
His sons Hussnain Mohammed, 24, and Amir Mohammed, 27, also appeared in the dock after £35,135 in dirty money, drugs and cash were recovered from the family home in Shawlands.
Both brothers were ordered to carry out 270 hours of unpaid work and placed under supervision for 12 months after pleading guilty to possession of criminal property and drugs offences.
In another disturbing case, a 39-year-old woman turned up at a Dalmarnock home armed with a baseball bat, leaving the resident terrified.
Nicole Campbell arrived at the property in Brisbane Lane at around 5.50pm on June 12, 2025, accompanied by a group of people.
The householder heard loud banging at her door and saw Campbell outside with the weapon, shouting for her to come out.
Fearing for her safety, the woman locked the door and phoned police. During a heated exchange, Campbell threw rocks at the window before eventually leaving.
She later pleaded guilty to having an offensive weapon without reasonable excuse and behaving in a threatening or aggressive manner.
Her lawyer admitted: “It’s not a good offence, it’s concerning but fortunately, there is no significant injury.”
Sentencing was deferred, with Sheriff Joan Kerr telling Campbell: “It’s a serious offence to have such an item in the circumstances that you had it.
“I take on board that you say there was more to the offence than what the procurator fiscal has brought to light.
“You worked hard with services to change your circumstances in recent times and I am impressed by that. I think there are some issues that need to be addressed.”
Campbell was placed on a structured deferred sentence and will return to court in May.
Meanwhile, a woman who conned her elderly aunt out of more than £317,000 to fund a Glasgow gym now faces a lengthy prison sentence.
Margaret Cassidy, 51, swindled £317,475 from 89-year-old Elizabeth Murphy between December 2020 and January 2022, using the bulk of the cash to transform the former St Kenneths Church in Linthouse into the Sanctuary Gym.
Jurors heard Cassidy also spent the money on designer suits, casino trips, cosmetic treatments and renovations at her business partner’s home.
Elizabeth only discovered the fraud after visiting her bank in 2022.
In a police statement read to the court, she said: “Margaret admitted and apologised – she said she was in bother and would pay it back. I have not heard anything since.
“I am in shock. I trusted her to deal with things at the bank but I never gave her permission to get money.
“She should not be walking about – she should be in jail.”
The pensioner recovered just over £4,000 before her death.
Cassidy was also convicted of defrauding a fitness company out of £90,000 worth of gym equipment by sending a bogus email pretending to be from a law firm.
Sheriff Andrew McIntyre told her: “These are serious matters and it is important that you understand that.”
Sentence was deferred until next month for background reports, with Cassidy granted bail meantime.
In the final case, a man who left a cache of weapons around Glasgow city centre was later found to have hundreds of indecent images of children on his phone.
Kevin Saeed, 41, abandoned pellet guns, samurai swords and knives at various locations including near the Royal Concert Hall and on Buchanan Street between July 14 and 19, 2025.
Prosecutor Victoria Keel said: “He deposited a pellet gun there before walking down Buchanan Street out of sight.
“A member of the public saw a second pellet gun, five knives and their cases lying on a bench on Buchanan Street.”
Saeed later dialled 999 claiming he was outside Marks and Spencer with a “large cache of weapons” and told the call handler: “Come and get them.”
Officers recovered a samurai sword, a rusted metal sword and three knives in sheaths. He later phoned again to “thank” police for taking the weapons “out of my hands.”
Following his arrest, analysis of his mobile phone uncovered 320 indecent still and moving images of children aged between two and 15.
Saeed pleaded guilty to possession and distribution of indecent images of children as well as multiple weapons offences.
Sheriff Louise Arrol KC deferred sentence for reports and remanded him in custody, warning: “This substantial scale is worrying in nature and a prison sentence is one of the options that is seriously under consideration.”
