The paedophile-hunting granny who built a heroin empire

In January 1997, long before the modern phenomena of online “Pedophil Hunters”, the Scottish grandmother had fame in one night when a child convicted of Raploch residence in Stirling successfully.

Margaret ‘Big Mags’ Haney and Mafia Justice brand turned him into a matriarchal media personality.

One of the most famous appearances was the popular daytime TV show, where he was invited to discuss the ‘pedophile panic’, which sweeps the district.

Haney argued with the host of the show, fought with other guests, and threatened two men in the audience, and exposed to disguise, which was sentenced to abuse children.

The profile exploded and began to emerge in the country -wide protests in the new role as an anti -Paedofile -opposite campaignist.

The walking salt was embraced as a flat speaker, and as he stood up for a good people in many neighborhoods and took action, he was applauded to correct a problem that no one else was handled, as he said.

Sometimes with a microphone, sometimes with a banner, the Mags mafia was part of the mafia, the press concerned – and the media views continued to come.

“I think that was something he believed to be wrong, Cass said Haney’s grandson Cassie Donald. He spoke for the first time with a BBC Podcast.

“The community suffered enough without pedophile.

“He wasn’t the only person to stand up. He just shouted in the highest voice.”

But Haney was carrying a secret and it didn’t take long without leaving.

Six months after Haney’s alertness and rise to fame, the focus of the press moved to the penalty rap page of the Haney family.

Big Mags was the president of a “wave of a family crime” responsible for theft and violence in Stirling.

He was called the “Family of Scotland from Hell” by the paintings.

“Some have points against their names,” Daily Record remembers.

“The amount of crime committed by this family in Stirling was legendary, so it wasn’t great that it was around it,” he says.

Big Mags and Haneys had to abandon the ownership by a 400 -person mafia, who was larger than the criminals to remove the pedophilic Christie six months ago.

The crowd gathered near Mags’s apartment and “build a festival fire and put Haneys on the top”.

As cheers became higher, the police entered Huntly Crescent to prevent a rebellion.

Haney came out with pink t -shirts and slippers and gave the crowd to the crowd as he moved away from his safety.

After the exile of Raploch land, Haney was placed in the temporary council.

However, without any other local authority in Scotland or north of England, he finally settled in the Lower Bridge Street, a stone throne from the old stomping floor.

Throughout all these, he remained a reason for Célèbre, and Scottish pressure still loved a great Mags story.

In 2000, a darker secret about kindergarten and household clan emerged.

Mark McGivern’s newspaper launched the “store-a-bay” campaign, which encourages readers to overthrow the largest heroin vendors in their plans anonymously.

The phones are illuminated, many callers play to put the big mages on the frame, and show him as the great boss of a drug dynasty who removes his homes from their apartments.

McGivern remembers how it has changed to feared the celebration of Mags’s status.

“He was a public figure, a community leader, a very large heroin seller and a gangster, or he says.

The journalist had a well -placed source that placed the Haney drug operation on him, so Mags was on top, so he witnessed the “drawn around” and selling drugs from apartments to family members.

McGivern even bought several bags of heroin from the household lieutenants as part of the investigation.

Although he had the goods to carry out the story, he thought that the boss would make a direct agreement with him.

The reporter, “I went in, I was asked to come to the living room, and I was surprised that Mags sat on a throne, in a large chair in the middle of the room.”

“I wanted to buy drugs – heroin – and he looked at me and said:” We don’t sell heroin here. ”

“” How do I get out of here? “I was thinking.”

McGivern, who felt a little scared and a little scared, scared the “Kaleyy” as it is known and returned to write his story.

Daily Record leaped Mags’s face with the title “number one seller” throughout the newspaper.

This was followed by a police stinging operation. Four members of the Haney clan were arrested for drug crimes and were tried in the Supreme Court in Edinburgh.

The court heard that Haney earned money from the operation up to £ 1,000 per day and earned money in government aid as well as getting payment of £ 1,200 per month.

Judge Lady Smith said that 60 -year -old Mags was the brain behind the operation and has handled large amounts of heroin than known as “Haney’s Hotel”.

Haney was sentenced to 12 years in prisonHis 35 -year -old daughter Diane was sentenced to nine years, 40 -year -old nephew Roseann, seven years, and was sentenced to five years in prison to his 31 -year -old son Hugh.

Diane’s daughter Cassie was only 10 years old when her mother and “Nana” went to jail.

“I remember going to school on the morning of their courts, and I came home and they weren’t there.” He said.

“Your mother is in prison, but you will see her soon,” Cassie says.

“Then the attitudes towards them were very much, ‘You made your bed and lying inside’ and there was not much thought for everyone.”

In spite of these convictions, local residents and journalists were confused why it took so long to eliminate Haney drug operation, which was claimed to be widespread in the 1990s.

These household family members were convicted for being involved in a 18 -month drug operation until their arrest in 2001.

A retired police officer who investigates Haneys, Simon McLean, BBC Podcast He thought why drug operations were not closed earlier.

“The open answer is his information.”

“I met all these people, families of crime and organized crime, and I haven’t met someone who didn’t talk to the police at any level.”

Another source of police confirmed that Big Mags would provide information to civil servants.

Mags Haney died of cancer at the age of 70 in 2013.

Twelve years later, Cassie believes that her grandmother’s legacy is more complex than depicted in the media.

“Two things can be right at a time, or he says.

“You may be a potentially a drug dealer that sells people who kill people, but you can still be a loving grandmother and a good person.

“I still feel that we owe him to tell his story.”