COCAINE COURIER IS JAILED

A COCAINE courier who was caught transporting £3.5 million worth of the drug was jailed yesterday.

Robert Stewart was hauling 65 kilograms worth of the class A drug from London before he was arrested by officers at Hamilton Services in Lanarkshire.

The bust was made after the 54-year-old was spotted loading two cases into the lorry in Kengiston on May 28 last year.

He was sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh to five years in prison.

Detective Chief Superintendent Stuart Houston, Police Scotland’s Head of Organised Crime, said: “Keeping our communities safe and free from the nefarious activities of organised criminals remains an absolute priority for Police Scotland and I welcome the conviction and sentencing of Clifford.

“Officers work tirelessly to disrupt these activities and the intelligence-led operations, undertaken with our policing and law enforcement partners, led to some of the largest seizures of drugs made in Scotland.

“We continue to work closely with our UK and European law enforcement partners.”

Stewart’s arrest cane during Operation Venetic – the most significant ever UK operation into serious and organised crime involving Police Scotland, the National Crime Agency and police forces across the UK.

Operation Venetic was previously used to take down Encrochat – an encrypted global communication service used almost exclusively by criminals.