A conman who orchestrated a £1 million scam by selling imported tea as if it were grown in Perthshire has been released from prison under the Scottish National Party’s early release policy. Thomas Robinson was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in June of the previous year for his elaborate fraud, which involved significant planning.
Robinson, 56, served just over 13 months of his 42-month sentence before his release. This early release is a result of a policy introduced by the Scottish Government in May, allowing prisoners sentenced to less than four years to be automatically freed after serving 30% of their term, aimed at reducing prison overcrowding. Robinson appeared at Stirling Sheriff Court for a proceeds of crime hearing, unaccompanied by guards.
The conman had claimed to have cultivated tea at his Perthshire estate using innovative techniques. However, the tea was actually purchased from wholesalers and grown outside of Scotland. His operation, trading as The Wee Tea Plantation, involved disguising the origin of the tea by having it delivered to a Glasgow mailbox address and paying for it through a private bank account. Prosecutors stated that a kilo of African tea could be sold for 100 times its cost when marketed as Scottish-grown.
Robinson was found guilty of defrauding hotels, tea retailers, and other businesses of more than £550,000. At the recent hearing, the alleged profit from Robinson’s criminal activities was updated, increasing from approximately £1.07 million to about £1.14 million. The final amount he will be ordered to repay will depend on his available assets, which are yet to be disclosed in court. The case was continued to a proof hearing on October 27, with Robinson also ordered to attend a procedural hearing next month.
To support his claims, Robinson had planted tea plants from a nursery in Sussex on a rented former sheep farm near Loch Tay. He claimed to have developed a method for making tea flourish despite the Scottish climate, using a "special biodegradable polymer" that prosecutors described as resembling black bin liners. He also presented his methods to the Royal Horticultural Society in London. He supplied Edinburgh’s Balmoral Hotel with "Scottish single-estate tea" and allegedly claimed that tea supplied to London’s five-star Dorchester Hotel was "the [late] Queen’s favourite."