Policeman pays tribute to team

A police officer whose team caught crooks selling dangerous substances on Tayside’s high streets has revealed how its efforts helped outlaw so-called legal highs.

Chief Inspector Gordon Milne headed Operation Carinate – set up to stop the distribution of new psychoactive substances at a time when their sale was still legal.

The officer and his colleagues had to convince prosecutors that the activities of Liston Pacitti and Paul Brocklehurst at their shops in Arbroath, Montrose and Perth were putting people’s lives in danger.

The pair were jailed on Tuesday for a total of nine years at Dundee Sheriff Court.

The sentence came nearly two years after the sale of numerous types of NPS was banned in the UK.

Mr Milne began targeting the pair as far back as 2014 when his team carried out raids on their stores and seized cash and other items.

He said: “What my team did in Tayside gave evidence to our governments that brought new laws to protect our people.

“At the end of the day these guys were peddling death.

“The sentences are testament to the dedication and hard work of some of the best police officers and Crown officials I have ever worked with.

“I, like many others in our communities, was convinced the supply of these substances from shops in our towns, was morally reprehensive and needed to be stopped.”