£1M DRUG BOSS GETS 14 YEARS
Pair convicted of organised crime racket
A FLASH drugs boss teamed up with a “surveillance” expert to carry out a massive drugtrafficking operation.
James Paterson, 34, and Ian Sweeney, 51, are now behind bars after a lengthy trial. Paterson lived in a flat in the upmarket Park district of Glasgow, owned Rolex watches, holidayed in Dubai and bought designer clothes. Sweeney was a former Barras street trader who set up his own counter-surveillance firm. Paterson was found guilty of four charges – being concerned in the supply of cocaine and heroin, directing others to “commit a serious offence”, as well as money laundering, between 2015 and 2016 in locations including Dundee, Chryston and Cumbernauld. Paterson was jailed for a total of 14 years.
Lord Fairley told him at the High Court in Glasgow: “You were the controlling mind of it.
“This was an operation of trafficking class A drugs on an industrial scale in which you played a leading role.
“Even using the minimum values of the drugs recovered, the evidence suggested a total value of cocaine of £850,000 and heroin of £100,000.”
Sweeney, from Salsburgh, Lanarkshire, was jailed for five years after he was found guilty of a charge of being involved in serious organised crime. Jurors returned a not proven verdict on an accusation that he had £27,640 of dirty money.
The court was told that on November 22, 2016, Sweeney helped Paterson track down a phone connected to someone who owed him money.
The following day, he gave directions to another man as part of Paterson’s operation. Sweeney claimed he thought he was helping to trace someone’s missing son. Lord Fairley told Sweeney: “Those who agree to become involved in serious and organised crime play an integral part in the drug dealing operations of those they serve.”