Trio had haul of cocaine worth more than £400k

HIGH COURT: High purity drug was discovered after police raided house in Dundee

A haul of high purity cocaine capable of producing more than £400,000 of the drug on the streets was discovered when police forced their way into a house in Dundee.

Gilbert Maclellan was found in the living room of his home in Murrayfield Terrace with Darren Mckelvie and a third man, Kurt D’cruz, who was caught trying to climb out of a kitchen window with cocaine staining his hands.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard that a cooking pot containing cocaine was on view on a worktop at the time of the police raid on April 4 last year.

Cannabis was also found along with benzocaine, the most common cutting agent used to bulk out cocaine.

D’cruz, 28, and Maclellan, 59, were under surveillance after police launched Operation Twisted to investigate the illegal drugs trade in Tayside.

Advocate depute Liam Ewing told the court: “All of the accused were assessed to be further down the chain of supply than those that were the initial targets.”

D’cruz, of The Hazels, Maclellan, of Murrayfield Terrace, and Mckelvie, 28, of Gleneagles Avenue, all Dundee, yesterday admitted being concerned in the supply of cocaine and cannabis between January 5 and April 4 last year.

Mr Ewing said that on April 4 Maclellan was seen going into the close at his home carrying bags and police later forced entry the same day and detained the three men.

A search at D’cruz’s then home at Leyshade Court, Dundee, recovered further drugs and mobile phones.

Analysis of phones taken from Mckelvie showed that he arranged for the importation of benzococaine from China and it was discovered that it was delivered to the home of a woman acquaintance whom he had assured it was illegal.

Eight kilos of the bulking agent was found and the woman revealed that he previously took another delivery away in March.

Mr Ewing said that more than a kilo of high purity cocaine was found at Maclellan’s home which had the potential to be cut into bulked out drugs worth more than £406,000 at street level. Almost two kilos of benzocaine were also recovered.

Cannabis and cannabis resin were also found with the potential to make more than £50,000 if cut up into deals.

Cannabis and cocaine which had the potential to make nearly £5,000 on the streets was found at D’cruz’s home at Leyshade Court. Phones from D’cruz and Maclellan were analysed and messages from others looking for drugs were discovered.

The judge, Lady Scott, deferred sentence on all three until next month for the preparation of background reports.