The old Forfar swimming pool was sold by Angus Council nearly five months before an alleged drugs farm was discovered inside the disused building.
It has emerged the council offloaded the baths to an unknown buyer for just over £50,000 in March.
The deal followed repeated attempts to sell the Vennel building since its closure in 2017.
On August 8, the boarded up building was raided by police.
It led to the discovery of an alleged cannabis cultivation.
Three men are due to make a second appearance in private at Forfar Sheriff Court this week in connection with the matter.
Land register sale details
Scotland’s land register says the 113-year-old building – gifted to the town by Fife steel magnate Andrew Carnegie – was sold on March 15.
It discloses the purchase price as £57,300.
That has been confirmed by the council.
They said the deal was done in accordance with the terms of a 2018 report agreed by policy and resources committee councillors to declare the building surplus to requirements and offer it for sale or lease.
A spokesperson said; “No further report was required as our financial regulations provide authority to delegated officers to complete the sale transactions of properties up to £250,000.”
Court appearance
Xhafer Furriku, 64, of no fixed abode, Hajri Musa, 38, from Paisley and 20-year-old Gerald Daci from London appeared in private at Forfar Sheriff Court last Wednesday.
All faced a single charge of with contravening the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 s4(2)(a), regarding the production of controlled drugs.
None of the men made any plea and all were remanded in custody.
They are expected to appear back in court later this week.
A police officer required hospital treatment after being injured during the operation.
Buyer search
The pool and adjacent car park became surplus to council requirements following the opening of the town’s £38 million community campus.
Angus Council made extensive efforts to find a buyer.
A deal for the C-listed building was done in 2020, but the potential purchaser backed out.
In 2022, the property went under the hammer at an online auction with a guide price of £50,000.
Bidding started at £40k but reached only £45k and it did not sell.
The council later revealed there had been post-auction interest and they were hopeful of finding a buyer.
