A £63,000 stash seized by police at the home of a community centre boss was raised through drug trafficking, the Sunday Mail can reveal.

Detectives took the cash from a house in East Kilbride owned by Chirnsyde Community initiative co-ordinator Eddie Lyons Snr.

They also discovered £185,000 worth of cannabis and heroin at addresses in Kirkintilloch, near Glasgow, as part of the same operation.

Four people were charged over the drugs seizures - Eddie Lyons' 25-year-old son Stephen, his friends Gavin Harper and William Paterson and Pater-son's mum Susan.

Paterson, 27, has been convicted and sentenced to 30 months in prison while charges against the other three were dropped.

Paterson said the £63,075 seized at Lyons' house was his and admitted it was the proceeds of drug trafficking.

A Crown Office spokesman said: "A case brought by the Financial Crime Unit was heard at the High Court in Edinburgh.

"William Paterson signed a mandate allowing the transfer of £63,075 from the police to the Sheriff Clerk.

"This money was detailed as the proceeds of drug trafficking."

The cash will now be used in the fight against drugs in Scotland.

Lyons Snr, 47, bought the luxury four-bed detached home for £140,000 in July 2003 and he owned it when the money was seized in 2004. But it was put on the market last year and sold for £200,000.

The revelations about drugs cash will put further pressure on Glasgow City Council and the Scottish Executive who pump public cash into the Chirnsyde Centre, run by Lyons.

Like hundreds of others across Scotland, the centre hosts a mixture of functions and sports activities attended by local children.

Chirnsyde received £77,000 from Glasgow City Council last year and £80,000 to fund it until the end of this year.

Available accounts show that it makes around £40,000 each year in takings. Lyons' co-ordinator earnings are relatively modest - an estimated £23,000 a year.

The Lyons family have blighted the Milton area of north Glasgow for decades.

Eddie's brother Michael, 34, was Scotland's first crack cocaine overdose victim after swallowing the drugs during a 1999 police raid.

Another brother Johnny, 40, is a convicted dealer who survived being gunned down three years ago. Eddie's son, Eddie Jnr, 26, was charged along with his father, Johnny, Stephen and two others after a man was almost beaten to death at Chirnsyde six years ago.

Charges against Eddie Sr, 47, and Johnny were dropped while Eddie Jnr and Stephen walked free on not proven verdicts.

Last year Stephen walked free from court on three attempted murder charges. Eddie's other son Christopher, 16, last year appeared in court accused of rape before charges were dropped.

Many locals are furious that Eddie runs the community centre where their children play and senior police officers are known to share their fears.

The Lyons family have been linked to a bloody feud with the rival Daniel clan.

'This money was detailed as the proceeds of drugs' Crown Office spokesman

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