Gang locked up for 87 years over guns, drugs and torture
A MAJOR crime gang branded the ‘most sophisticated’ in Scotland has been jailed for a total of 87 years.
The nine-strong mob was locked up over drugs, firearms, violence and dirty money.
Their list of crimes includes the ‘merciless’ torture of a man over a cocaine debt, and a huge arsenal of weapons found hidden in a car.
The nine returned yesterday to the High Court in Glasgow – where armed officers were on patrol – having previously pleaded guilty to a series of charges. Lord Beckett praised the ‘extraordinary ingenuity, courage and commitment’ of the authorities in catching the gang.
David Sell, 50, received the longest sentence – 15 years and eight months – for his part in the abduction and ‘brutal and merciless’ torture of a drug dealer.
Barry O’Neill, 37, was locked up for seven years and four months after a guilty plea to supplying cocaine.
Anthony Woods, 44, got 11 years and one month after admitting his roles in ‘serious organised crime’.
For the same charge, Francis Mulligan, 41, was jailed for eight years and 324 days, while Michael Bowman, 30, got seven years. Gerard Docherty, 42, got ten years and six months after a shooting at an Edinburgh house.
Mark Richardson, 30, received a sentence of eight years and nine months and Steven McArdle, 33, was handed a term of seven years and 100 days after they were caught with Glock handguns.
Finally, former Army war veteran Martyn Fitzsimmons, 37, was locked up for ten-anda-half years for having a similar weapon, ammunition and £36,000 of dirty money.
The judge said: ‘Police uncovered the workings of serious and organised crime.’
The operation centred on the importation of vast amounts of cocaine, with the gang a wholesaler to other criminal groups.
Prosecutor Alex Prentice, QC, told a hearing in Decemalthough ber that the gang was ‘the most sophisticated encountered by Police Scotland’.
He added: ‘The firepower at the disposal of this group is unprecedented in terms of the history of organised crime in Scotland.’
The court heard a victim, Robert Allan, was targeted after he could not pay a £30,000 drug debt. In March 2015 Sell, from East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, acted as a ‘guard’ while Allan was whipped with a thick chain, struck with a metal bar, and battered with a 14-pound sledgehammer. He was also ordered to strip and sprayed with bleach.
Later, he was taken to a rural spot near East Kilbride and shot in both knees – Sell was not present at this time.
Allan suffered a host of serious injuries and still needs a crutch to help him walk.
The court also heard how premises and cars were used for the ‘concealing, packaging and transporting’ of cocaine, cash and firearms.
Stolen high-performance cars – including two £85,000 Audi RS6 motors and a £30,000 Volkswagen Golf – were used as ‘getaway’ vehicles.
The group, which adopted ‘counter surveillance’ tactics to avoid detection, also used ‘distinctive, encrypted’ mobile phones, and even fake facial hair and wigs.
Prosecutors told how Docherty was involved in a shooting at the home of Robert Kelbie in Ratho, Edinburgh, in September 2016.
The court heard he ‘discharged bullets from a firearm’ into the conservatory of the cottage. Docherty was caught after DNA linked him to the scene.
Meanwhile, a haul of firearms was found at a lock-up in Anniesland, in Glasgow’s West End, early last year.
Glocks, a Beretta, sub machine guns, a grenade and bullets were found hidden in an ‘engineered compartment’ of the rear bumper of a Honda CRV.
The nine face another hearing this week as lawyers argue whether they should each be given Serious Crime Prevention Orders.
Detective Chief Superintendent Gerry McLean, head of organised crime and counter terrorism, said: ‘The nine men were involved in the most serious criminal activity, including firearms, drug dealing and extreme violence.
‘They were responsible for bringing fear and misery to communities across Scotland.’
Battered with a sledgehammer