Gang members jailed over drugs haul

Six members of a Glasgowbased gang caught with £600,000 of cocaine, heroin and Etizolam destined for Inverness were jailed for a total of 25 years on Monday.

Sentence was deferred on a seventh member for further reports.

Judge Lord Boyd said: ‘This was a sophisticated and organised criminal conspiracy and you all played a part.’

Ringleaders Kieran Adams, 28, from Clydebank and Stephen Kelly, 31, living in Glasgow, were each sentenced to seven years and six months.

Donald Dunbar, 61, Kenneth MacKenzie, 25, and Sean Gordon, 28, were each jailed for three years, and Karen Reynolds, 51, was jailed for a year. All were from Glasgow.

Danielle Finlay, 30, from Hamilton, had sentence on her deferred until December 13 and she was granted bail.

They all admitted being involved in the supply of drugs between November 2018 and March this year. These charges were aggravated by a connection with serious organised crime.

Lord Boyd told Adams and Kelly: ‘You are the only ones who do not have a dependency on drugs. You directed others and your motivation was wholly financial gain.’

The High Court in Glasgow heard that the other accused had drug problems and became involved to pay off drugs debts.

Defence counsel Mark Moir, representing Finlay, said: ‘She had a significant drug addiction problem and is taking steps to address that. Her involvement in this was acting as a courier on a single day. She had accrued a significant drug debt and had agreed to act as a courier to help pay that off.’

Lord Boyd is considering a non-custodial sentence for Finlay and has called for further reports on her progress.

The court heard that Adams and Kelly ran the business and used MacKenzie, Dunbar, Finlay and Gordon as couriers. Reynolds’ Glasgow flat was used to store drugs.

Mr Goddard said: ‘Adams and Kelly possessed bulk quantities that they would supply to couriers for forward distribution under their direction.’

Both Kelly and Adams were found in possession of significant quantities of controlled drugs. The court heard that MacKenzie, Dunbar, Gordon and Finlay were caught following tip-offs to the police. There was also undercover surveillance on members of the gang.

Adams and Kelly were the subject of undercover surveillance and Kelly was caught in Argyle Street, Glasgow, with a rucksack containing cocaine and heroin with a street value of £30,290.