POLICE are still hunting for a notorious gangland torturer, nicknamed the Blackhill Butcher, almost a year after he went on the run.
They have renewed their appeal for help in finding Martin Hamilton, a potentially dangerous ex-prisoner, who should not be approached by the public.
Hamilton, 53, was released from prison on licence in September 2014 and is now wanted for allegedly breaching those terms.
Gangster Hamilton, who once tried to gouge a man’s eye out with a spoon, was jailed for life in 2000 for waging a reign of terror against drug addicts in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
He was found guilty at the High Court in Inverness for 11 out of the 14 charges involving the sale of drugs, abduction, assault and torture.
The judge, Lord Kingarth, told Hamilton he took “sadistic pleasure in the infliction of pain and the inspiration of real terror” and added: “You pose a substantial danger to the public.”
He passed a life sentence with a minimum recommendation of nine years. In another incident, Hamilton also tried to cut a man’s finger off with a knife. He was also convicted of various drug dealing offences. Before justice finally caught up with him, Hamilton walked free from 12 High Court indictments for crimes including possession of firearms, a shooting, serious assault and robbery.
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