Police officers spent Hogmanay guarding the home of a convicted who was shot in the face in a suspected gangland hit.
We told recently how , 38, is living under police guard amid renewed fears for his safety. And last night was no different for officers tasked with protecting the designer dog breeder at his Lanarkshire home.
While the force said they were not probing any fresh incidents, a patrol car was stationed at the gates of the Strathaven farm
property where he has set up his new business.
Police previously confirmed they were working with a resident to “reduce any risk” and reassured the community they were maintaining a presence in the area.
Bennett is working with officers in light of new threats after being blasted in the face in what detectives believed to be a targeted attack in December 2018.
Despite appeals for information on the hit in the car park of a vet’s surgery in Cambuslang, no one has been charged.
The attack took place 12 miles from Bennett’s Brae Farm, which was raided by police, Trading Standards officers and the Scottish SPCA a month earlier.
Mobile phones, documents and computers were seized but Bennett wasn’t charged with any offence.
We revealed in August how Bennett and his wife had set up a Strathaven clinic in for dogs which can change hands for thousands of pounds.
It was using sperm from overseas and stud dogs in Scotland to produce breeds such as English bulldogs and American bullies.
Bennett was jailed in 2016 for dealing cannabis.
He has also been busted for cocaine possession. The Record was passed details of his drug-dealing past after launching our War on Puppy Farms probe.
While there is no suggestion Bennett has committed further offences, the SSPCA, Police Scotland and HMRC are on alert over known links between crime groups and puppy farming.
