A whisky collector’s special gold decanter was thrown away by police after it was taken into evidence to prosecute a thief who had tried to steal it from his home.
Argo Kivirand, 46, apprehended the housebreaker in his cottage near St Fergus on March 1 2020.
The offender tried to get away with cans of beer and peaches, bottles of whisky, vodka and even a bag of flour.
All of the items – including the collectable Glenfiddich 18-Year-Old Superior Reserve Decanter bought for almost £400 – were seized by police who arrested the intruder.
The thief pleaded guilty and was sentenced at Peterhead Sheriff Court in late February last year but Mr Kivirand’s belongings were never returned.
It’s since emerged that Police Scotland destroyed the items after failing to follow a ‘return to owner’ instruction that was issued by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS).
Mr Kivirand, who is originally from Estonia, has collected whiskies since he moved to Scotland almost 18 years ago.
But he’s spent more than a year trying to find out what happened to his prized decanter and fighting to be compensated for Police Scotland’s error.
A force spokeswoman told The Press and Journal: “The items were destroyed. An officer spoke with the complainer and the matter was resolved.”
But Mr Kivirand, who remains hundreds of pounds out of pocket, said the matter is far from resolved, adding: “Police should protect people’s property, not take it away from them.”
‘Your stuff has been destroyed because it was past its expiry date’
He told the Press and Journal: “The police first told me that they cannot release the items because the Procurator Fiscal (PF) has to release them.
“Then I went to the PF and they said that the court case had finished and the police should have given my things back.
“Some guy phoned me from the Fraserburgh warehouse where the police keep evidence.
“He said, ‘Your stuff has been destroyed because it was past its expiry date’.
“I told him he was speaking rubbish. How the hell does whisky have an expiry date?”
Mr Kivirand said he was told by a COPFS official to make a complaint to the police.
“When I went back to the PF and said what I had just been told, they said the police shouldn’t have destroyed my possessions because the Crown Office never gave the order to dispose of the items – it should never have been done.
“They were surprised that I didn’t get my stuff back,” Mr Kivirand explained.
‘The police are the last people who should do something like this’
Police Scotland’s Professional Standards Department, which has handled the man’s complaint, has replied to Mr Kivirand and asked him to contact its Legal Services Department.
But the 46-year-old just wants to be compensated for the missing 23-carat gold ceramic with handcrafted filigree highlights, without having to work for it.
“The police are the last people who should do something like this,” he said.
“They should be chasing the bad guys instead of me having to chase the police for being the bad guys.”
Police officials refused to confirm whether, in this instance, their colleagues have complied with the force’s own national guidance on how evidence – known as productions – should be managed.
When the Press and Journal approached Police Scotland about Mr Kivirand’s grievance, they would not even answer questions about that publicly available document.
And queries in two of our emails went unanswered after a spokeswoman claimed it would be “inappropriate” to comment on the matter any further.
However, the wall of silence did not hinder our investigation into what went wrong in Mr Kivirand’s case.
Our inquiries were able to determine that the COPFS did, in fact, issue police with an instruction to return Mr Kivirand’s property to him.
But Police Scotland failed to follow the instruction and destroyed the items instead.
Mr Kivirand says he now intends to refer his “unresolved” complaint to the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner.
He hopes that the police watchdog will help him to secure an appropriate amount of compensation for his loss.
How much is the whisky worth?
The owner of Aberdeen Whisky Shop, on Union Street, Nick Sullivan believes the value of Mr Kivirand’s gold decanter has risen by more than £100 since he purchased it for £380.80.
“I would be putting its value at around the £500 mark,” Mr Sullivan said. “That’s what you’d be expecting to pay for it now.”
“If you purchased it through an auction – including your fees, delivery costs and commissions – you’re probably looking to pay around £500.
“It’s gone up in value since he purchased it. Glenfiddich would have released this for probably only a very short period of time.
“They do become rarer and rarer as the years go by. In even a couple of years, the value will go up.”
One website has the Glenfiddich 18-Year-Old Superior Reserve Decanter listed on sale for £979.90.
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