Larkhall cousins Sandy Hamilton and Kevin McKinlay who died speedboat trip off Scottish coast were suspected puppy smugglers
The bodies of the two men were pulled from the water on Sunday after the failed to return to Port Logan
TWO cousins who died on a speedboat trip off the west coast of Scotland were suspected puppy smugglers.
Sandy Hamilton, 35, and Kevin McKinlay, 46, both from Larkhall, were pulled from the water on Sunday after being reported missing on Saturday night.
The BBC reports that both men were suspected by authorities of being involved in the illegal puppy trade.
Mr Hamilton was also facing trial over the deaths of two people in a road crash.
He was accused of causing death by dangerous driving after a head-on crash killed 85-year-old Giovanni Coppolaro and his wife Maria, 83, from St Ives, Cambridgeshire, in July 2015.
Cops confirmed the bodies of the two men had been recovered from the Irish Sea after they failed to return to Port Logan, Wigtownshire.
Officers are still trying to determine the circumstances surrounding their deaths.
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But it has emerged that both men were known to police in connection with the illegal trade of puppies from the Republic of Ireland.
The BBC also reports that Mr Hamiilton’s body was recovered with a substantial amount of cash.
A Scottish SPCA undercover inspector said: "Puppy trafficking has been monitored for some time under Operation Delphin and we have identified a particular route between Scotland and Ireland.
"Operation Delphin has gained success tackling the illegal trade involving puppy trafficking in an attempt to improve animal welfare.
"We have seen the perpetrators develop more elaborate ways to source puppies undetected."
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