Police officers visit the home of Peter Murrell and Nicola Sturgeon in Glasgow. Photo: Jeff J. Mitchell. On Wednesday, in coordinated morning raids, during which officers also searched her trash cans, backyard, and SNP headquarters.
In scenes that viewers said were reminiscent of a «murder investigation,» near her home , which she shared with her husband Peter Murrell, had a large evidence tent set up as he was arrested as part of a lengthy SNP finance investigation.
The former First Minister, who officially resigned just last week, was at home when the first police officers arrived at 7:35 am.
Witnesses reported that Ms Sturgeon, 52, had left home. property in a normally quiet cul-de-sac on the outskirts of Glasgow in a black Volvo about 20 minutes before dozens of police vans arrived at her property to begin a painstaking search for clues around 8:30 am.
Meanwhile, police also raided the SNP headquarters in Edinburgh, close to the Scottish Parliament, about 40 miles from the property the couple bought for £228,000 in 2005.
Merrell, 58, chief executive of the SNP for nearly 25 years before he resigned in disgrace last month for misleading the public about party membership, other residents didn't see him
Powerful couple's neighbors used to random interference The media, during its decades at the top of Scottish politics, has remained silent.
Police searched the trash cans in the couple's backyard garden. shock at the extent of the police presence: about half a dozen police officers are on duty during the day. Blue-and-white police tape surrounded the detached property.
«This looks like what you'd expect from a murder investigation,» one witness said. “There were rumors that Peter might be arrested, but no one could have expected this. It's like in the movies.
Detectives, some in civilian clothes, came to the house during the day. Five huge police vans — the type typically used to transport large numbers of officers to events such as Old Firm football games — were stationed outside the property at one point.
Clearly, the large tent that , apparently covering another vehicle, was installed to protect the «integrity» of the probe.
The blue film was also stretched to hide the house from prying eyes on a normally gray and rainy day in Glasgow.
One police source in Scotland said one of the vehicles turned out to be a digital forensics van and that the presence of a large number of officers was standard procedure.
Searching can be extremely labor intensive, they explained, because important evidence can be stored on a device the size of an SD card or a SIM card.An aerial view shows a cordon and police tape in place around the facility.
Blinds and curtains were drawn, although officers were seen doing a thorough inspection of the couple's garden, which boasts a large conservatory extension.
They were spotted inspecting garbage cans, and at one stage were seen with a shovel and other garden tools in the back of the house.
It was impossible to see if they were digging up the sod. The police searched the barn.
As they surveyed the garden, the officers also opened a storage box and a police photographer documented the search.
The officers put down protective plastic mats to protect the well-manicured front lawn as they repeatedly walked to and from the waiting vans.
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Police officers repeatedly opened and closed the couple's garage, although their actions were hidden behind screens.
In a sign that the raid may have come as a surprise to the couple, their waste bins were left to collect.
One officer drove Ms. Sturgeon and Mr. Murrell's garbage can around the police cordon and handed it over to the scavengers, who were trudging along the narrow street in their garbage truck.
Dianne Ivory, a crime scene investigator with more than 30 years of experience with the Metropolitan Police, said a large forensics-style tent was set up to prevent capture of images of officers at work.
«I would suggest that they do this to block the path so you can't see what they're doing,» she said.
«They do it so you can't see who's coming in, who comes out. It is possible that they bring computers or laptops with them.”
Ms. Ivory first began training as a fingerprint examiner at the Met in 1987, moving on to crime scene investigation in the 1990s .
She now runs her own educational research business, Forensic Minds.
She added: “The police clearly want to limit what people can see. The only way to do this is to pitch a tent over the driveway.”
One local resident said he saw Mr. Murrell clean the couple's garage on Saturday, which they said was usually full of boxes and junk. .
Some neighbors speculated that the couple were planning to move in the wake of Ms Sturgeon's shocking resignation as First Minister and Mr Murrell's ignominious departure from their party. .jpg» /> Investigators also visited the SNP headquarters in Edinburgh. Credit: Jane Barlow/PA Wire
They were likely financially stable: Ms Sturgeon has been Minister since 2007 and First Minister since 2014. role, she was paid a salary of £135,605.
Mr Murrell received an annual salary of around £80,000 according to the latest SNP reports, although he had been paid more than £100,000 in previous years as an SNP chief executive.
Meanwhile, out of office SNP in the Scottish capital, officers stood guard at the entrance while others entered and exited the building.
At the Jackson entrance area, where the party headquarters is located, there were four police vans and about five unmarked police cars signs. located on the third floor.
Mr Murrell has overseen the party's transformation from a near laughingstock in British politics to one of Europe's most impressive electoral winning machines from offices close to Edinburgh's historic Royal Mile.
The police have taken charge. previously declined to comment on reports that some of the hundreds of thousands of pounds of donations related to their investigation into party finances were spent on major office renovations said to have cost £385,000.
Police. were seen loading at least half a dozen large green boxes onto the back of police vans following the raid on SNP headquarters.
Lights were turned on on the top floor of the building on Wednesday evening as police continued to search the building more than 12 hours after they first arrived.
Police Scotland said they were conducting searches «on a number of addresses as part of the investigation,” but declined to say what other facilities, if any, were searched.
The Force also advised caution when discussing the case. on social networks due to disrespect for the rules of the court.
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