Jail for Dundee drug dealer who went on run to escape justice

Police hail locking up of woman, 55, for nearly six years

A 55-year-old Dundee woman who fled to Bulgaria while awaiting sentencing for dealing Class A drugs has been jailed.

Morag Yorston was sentence to five years and 11 months at the High Court in Glasgow yesterday after being caught with around £100,000 worth of heroin and cocaine in Dundee in 2018.

She fled with her Bulgarian husband after failing to appear at court in Glasgow in September 2019.

A European Arrest Warrant was granted and she was arrested by the Bulgarian authorities and extradited on July 2 to face her punishment.

Yorston, who pleaded guilty in July last year, was one of 17 people arrested during Operation Boost between July and October 2018.

The joint Tayside Division and Organised Crime Unit investigation was launched after an increase in drug-related deaths in the city.

In total officers seized about six kilograms of heroin and a kilogram of cocaine, with a combined street value of more than £380,000, as well as £12,000 in cash.

Detective Chief Inspector Scott Fotheringham said: “Operation Boost was a complex and protracted investigation which identified Yorston as playing a significant role in an organised crime group intent in bringing misery to our communities.

“Police Scotland works hard with local, national and international partners to make Tayside and the rest of Scotland a hostile environment for those involved in this sort of criminality.

“I welcome the sentencing handed to Yorston which also underlines how seriously the courts view such activities.”

Chief Inspector David McIntosh, area commander for Tayside Division, added: “The success of Operation Boost and the sentencing of Yorston shows our unwavering commitment to targeting serious organised criminals in Tayside and disrupting their activities, to protect the most vulnerable people in our communities.”

Yorston is the eighth person jailed as part of the operation with three women and four men sentenced to a total of more than 17 years in prison.

A male youth was also locked up for 16 months and a woman received a fivemonth Restriction of Liberty Order.

Picture: Police Scotland. Morag Yorston, from Dundee, had fled with her husband to Bulgaria after failing to turn up for her original court appearance.