Gangster gets long jail term
Sell sentenced to 16 years over his role
An East Kilbride thug who was part of the “most sophisticated” crime gang in Scotland has been jailed for nearly 16 years.
David Sell was handed the biggest prison term of 15 years and eight months for his role in the abduction and torture of a known drug dealer.
The 50-year-old was locked up as part of a ninestrong mob who were caged for a total of 87 years for their dealings in drugs, firearms, serious violence and dirty money.
The list of crimes included blasting Robert Allan in the legs in East Kilbride over an unpaid £30,000 cocaine debt and a huge arsenal of weapons found hidden in a car.
Members of the clan returned to the High Court in Glasgow on Monday having earlier pleaded guilty to various charges. Judge Lord Beckett praised the authorities “extraordinary ingenuity, courage and commitment” in catching the gang.
Prosecutor Alex Prentice QC told a hearing in December the crime gang was “the most sophisticated encountered by Police Scotland”.
They had been caught during a number of largescale probes.
Mr Prentice: “Their operation centres on the importation of vast quantities of cocaine. Their role is as wholesalers to other organised crime groups.
“They are at the top of the chain in terms of drugs transactions in Scotland and the UK as a whole.
“The firepower at the disposal of this crime group is unprecedented in terms of the history of organised crime in Scotland.”
The court heard how Mr Allan became a target after he could not pay a drug debt. He had earlier met with Barry O’Neill in Glasgow in connection with a large cocaine haul.
Mr Allan later fled Scotland when he was unable to stump up payment – but was tracked to Barnsley, Yorkshire in March 2015.
Sell turned up at his door with two other armed men before Mr Allan was horrifically attacked.
He was initially driven hostage to an industrial unit in Fauldhouse, West Lothian. Sell acted as a “guard” in between the victim being brutally beaten.
This included him being whipped with a thick chain, smacked with a metal bar and left with a broken leg after he was battered with a 14-pound sledgehammer.
With other men now on the scene, the victim was ordered to strip and sprayed with a bleach.
The court heard Mr Allan stood “naked, wet and humiliated”.
A hooded Mr Allan was then taken to a rural spot in Stewartfield, East Kilbride. Sell was not present – but two of the other men hauled him from a car and pinned him down.
Mr Prentice said: “Robert Allan was then shot three times – twice in one knee and then the other.”
Mr Allan was then dragged to the top of a hill and ordered to roll down. As the attackers left, members of the public came to his aid.
He had a host of serious injuries including gunshot wounds to his knees. Mr Allan still needs a crutch to help him walk.
Sell was linked to the crime after making “special admissions” to a then partner.
He admitted in court to being involved in abducting and assaulting Mr Allan to his permanent disfigurement and impairment as well as to the danger of his life.
Co-accused O’Neill, 37, was locked up for seven years and four months for cocaine supply.
Anthony Woods, 44 – described as the “electronics expert” for the mob – got 11 years and one month’s jail after he pleaded guilty to having roles in “serious organised crime”.
Francis Mulligan, 41, was jailed for eight years and 324 days, while 30-year-old Michael Bowman got seven years for the same charge.
Gerard Docherty, 42, was locked up for 10 years and six months after a shooting at a house in Edinburgh.
Mark Richardson, 30, was hit with an eight-year, nine-month sentence and Steven McArdle, 33, seven years and 100 days, after they were each caught with Glock handguns.
Ex-army war veteran Martyn Fitzsimmons, 37, was locked up for 10-and-ahalf years for having a similar weapon as well as ammo and £36,000 of dirty money.
The nine face a further hearing as lawyers argue whether the gang should each be hit with serious crime prevention orders.