Six men have admitted conspiring to flood Scotland with around £100 million of cocaine smuggled to the UK from South America.
Today, Thursday, 29 August 2024, James Stevenson, 59 (above), David Bilsland, 68, and Paul Bowes, 53, plead guilty to serious organised crime and drug offences following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
Gerard Carbin,45, Ryan McPhee, 34, and Lloyd Cross, 32, had plead guilty earlier in the trial.
In September 2020, around a tonne of cocaine with an estimated value of £100 million was discovered, concealed within a consignment of bananas, during a joint operation by Police Scotland and the National Crime Agency (NCA) at Dover.
The seizure of 119 packages of the Class A drugs, which had arrived into the port on a vessel from Ecuador, was made by Organised Crime Partnership officers, assisted by specialist Border Force search teams.
Searches were subsequently carried out at properties in Scotland and England and the accused were identified.
The investigation was closely linked to Operation Venetic – the most significant operation into serious and organised crime involving Police Scotland, the National Crime Agency and police forces across the UK – which has seen hundreds of arrests following the infiltration of an encrypted communications platform used by criminals.
Stevenson had fled the UK and was arrested in February 2022 in the south of The Netherlands by Police Scotland, NCA and international law enforcement officers.
Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Ferry, Police Scotland’s Head of Organised Crime said: “The conviction of those men involved in this dangerous organised crime group are testament to the hard work and determination of those who undertook a complex investigation which spanned countries across the world.
“The multi-agency operation, including the National Crime Agency, prevented a massive haul of drugs reaching our communities across Scotland and ruining lives. It also underlines the value of working in partnership with our law enforcement colleagues in this country and abroad.
“Police Scotland officers work tirelessly every day to disrupt the activities of serious organised crime groups who think they are above the law, and in some way untouchable. The guilty pleas tendered today show this not to be the case.”
NCA Regional Head of Investigations Gerry Mclean said: “The drugs trade causes immense damage and devastation, fuelling violence on our streets and the exploitation of young and vulnerable people across the country.
“Following his arrest in 2020, career criminal Stevenson fled the country but continued to direct the importation of cocaine into the UK from abroad, falsely believing he could evade justice.
“His plea today, and the earlier admissions of guilt by five of his co-conspirators, are testament to the dedicated work of NCA officers, our Police Scotland partners and our many law enforcement colleagues right across the globe.
“Together, we are working tirelessly to disrupt and dismantle organised crime groups who supply class A drugs, ensuring that all those involved, wherever they choose to hide, are brought before the courts.”
Another man, Lewis Connor, aged 27 years, was jailed for three years in July this year after the same investigation found encrypted phone messages which proved he had set fire to properties and vehicles across Central Scotland.
The Organised Crime Partnership (Scotland) is a joint Police Scotland and NCA team. Police Scotland and the NCA are partners in Scotland’s Serious Organised Crime Taskforce, which oversees the work being carried out to reduce the harm caused by serious organised crime in Scotland by ensuring all partner bodies work together.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has set out the first steps to establishing a new UK Border Security Command (BSC).
This BSC will strengthen Britain’s border security and smash the criminal smuggling gangs making millions out of small boat crossings.
Rapid recruitment for an exceptional leader used to working in complex and challenging environments, for example, at senior levels of policing, intelligence or the military, will kick off today (Monday 8 July), with the new recruit expected to take up their post in the coming weeks.
Reporting directly to the Home Secretary, the Border Security Commander will provide strategic direction to work across agencies, drawing together the work of the National Crime Agency (NCA), intelligence agencies, police, Immigration Enforcement and Border Force, to better protect our borders and go after the smuggling gangs facilitating small boat crossings.
Following the Home Secretary’s instruction, a core team in the Home Office is establishing the remit, governance and strategic direction of the new command. Early legislation is being prepared to introduce new counter terror style powers and stronger measures to tackle organised immigration crime.
She has also commissioned a bespoke investigation from the department and the NCA into the latest routes, methods and tactics used by people smuggling gangs across Europe to inform a major law enforcement drive over the coming months.
The BSC will draw on substantial additional resources, with work to bring in more investigators, experts and analysts to tackle organised immigration crime starting on Monday. A significant number of these will be based across Europe, working with Europol and European police forces to disrupt the activity of the criminal smuggling gangs and ensure those profiting from people smuggling are brought to justice.
In a call to the Director General of the NCA, Graeme Biggar, the Home Secretary stressed the need to break the business model of the criminal smuggling gangs, going after their ability to communicate, move people across Europe and their profit.
The Home Secretary will have further calls this week with European interior ministers and with the Director General of Europol to discuss strengthening security cooperation.
Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, said: “Criminal smuggling gangs are making millions out of small boat crossings, undermining our border security and putting lives at risk. We can’t carry on like this. We need to tackle the root of the problem, going after these dangerous criminals and bringing them to justice.
“The Border Security Command will be a major step change in UK enforcement efforts to tackle organised immigration crime, drawing on substantial resource to work across Europe and beyond to disrupt trafficking networks and to coordinate with prosecutors in Europe to deliver justice.
“Work is underway to bring in a Border Security Commander to lead this work – and we will begin recruitment on additional capacity in the National Crime Agency immediately.”
Reports of online child sexual abuse and exploitation in Scotland have increased by 21 per cent, according to new data from Police Scotland.
Between 1 April, 2023 and 31 March, 2024, 2,055 cyber-enabled sexual crimes against children were recorded, an increase of 364 on the previous year. Three offence types accounted for two thirds of this total:
Cause or coerce to see/hear sexual images/content
Communicating indecently with a child
Possession/distribution of indecent images of children.
The scale of online child sexual abuse and exploitation (OCSAE) was highlighted in a recent study by University of Edinburgh’s Childlight initiative. It estimated that 300 million children a year worldwide were victims of online sexual abuse and exploitation.
And the National Crime Agency estimates that 1.3% – 1.6% of adults in the UK pose varying degrees of risk to children.
The scale of the threat is a recognised national risk.
Police Scotland yesterday (1 July) launched its latest #GethelpOrGetCaught campaign to prevent OCSAE, targeting individuals who may already have offended or be at risk of offending.
It signposts them to the Lucy Faithfull Foundation Scotland’s Stop It Now service which offers advice and support to prevent offending.
Detective Chief Superintendent Sam Faulds, head of Public Protection for Police Scotland, which leads on child protection, said: “More of us live our lives online and that is particularly true for children and young people. Cyber-enabled crime is on the rise, and increasingly our investigations are focused online identifying offenders and bringing them to justice.
“During the school summer holidays, many more children will be at home and online.
“We want to reduce risk, to stop young people becoming victims of online child abuse and exploitation.
“Many of our key partners provide advice to young people and their parents about keeping safe online.
“Our role is to target offenders.
“Our prevention campaigns offer them a way to stop, a route out before they offend, before a child becomes their victim, before other lives are damaged.
“We want to prevent children becoming victims of online predators and we will use all means at our disposal to identify offenders.
“Think about it – it might not be a child you are grooming or speaking to online. It might be the police. Take your chance to Get Help or you will Get Caught.”
Stuart Allardyce, director of Lucy Faithfull Foundation Scotland, said: “We have worked with hundreds of individuals who have either been arrested for online offences against children or are concerned about their thoughts or behaviours towards children.
“Through our work, we understand how difficult it is to reach out for help. We also know that those who engage in these behaviours often need support with their mental health and compulsive behaviours, feeling trapped in a cycle of harmful actions.
“The reasons for viewing sexual images of children or online grooming are complex, and many individuals recognise that what they are doing is wrong. Seeking individualised, anonymous, and non-judgmental support is absolutely the right step to take. This can help individuals stop viewing illegal images or engaging in illegal conversations online.
“By making the right choice and getting the support you need, you can move on from offending or potential criminal behaviour and help protect and keep children safe.”
The Police Scotland campaign will run for six weeks across various social media platforms including Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Snapchat, and Spotify.
Last month, 61-year-old Ian Heddle, was convicted of the serious sexual assault of a child and possession of indecent images of children. Heddle was arrested and charged in Scotland in connection with possessing indecent images of children.
Following enquiries, it was established he had also sexually assaulted a young girl in Thailand. He was subsequently arrested and charged for this offence. The arrest was made under legislation which protects children anywhere in the world from sexual abuse by British nationals.
Earlier this year, serial predator, Benjamin Young, 42, was sentenced to 12 years in prison and has been given an Order of Lifelong Restriction (OLR). Young created and shared images and videos of the sexual abuse of children.
He was identified and investigated by the National Child Abuse Investigation Unit working with international law enforcement partners.
The majority of perpetrators of online sexual abuse are male (90%). Most victims are female (54%).
Rani Govender, NSPCC Regulatory Policy Manager, said: “Online sexual abuse can have a devastating impact on children and young people. This abuse can be prevented, but tech firms have not done enough to build platforms which are safe by design for children.
“These figures demonstrate the increasing scale of the problem in Scotland. We need strong implementation of the Online Safety Act by Ofcom to protect children and young people. It is vital that platforms are held accountable for tackling all forms of child sexual abuse and exploitation.
“Tech firms need to use best practice approaches to prevent, detect and disrupt abuse, including in private messaging.
“It is important that tech companies do not delay action any longer and that they make children and young people’s safety a priority.”
Three men have been sent to prison for serious and organised crime offences involving the large-scale supply of class A drugs based in Glasgow and stretching across the central belt of Scotland.
At the High Court in Edinburgh, yesterday (Friday, 10 May), Paul Martin, Peter Dickson and Grant Japp, were sentenced to five years and eight months, four years and three months, and three years and four months respectively.
Martin aged 43, Dickson aged 34, and Japp aged 30, had previously pled guilty at the High Court in Glasgow.
Acting on intelligence officers, executed a number of warrants in Glasgow which led to the arrest of Jaap in May 2021. Further enquiries resulted in Dickson also being apprehended.
A complex investigation enabled officers to identify Martin as the ring-leader. This included infiltration of the encrypted messaging service Encrochat via Operation Venetic – regarded as the most significant UK operation into serious and organised crime involving Police Scotland, the National Crime Agency and police forces across the UK.
Martin had fled to Spain before he could be arrested but was traced to Tenerife and extradited to Scotland in August 2022.
Detective Inspector Phillip Kennedy said: “These men made a substantial amount of money from a drugs operation importing and selling Class A drugs in the central belt of Scotland.
“Martin, in particular, lived a lavish lifestyle with properties in Scotland and Spain.
“The three men blighted our communities with drugs and their sentencing comes after a complex investigation.
“Disrupting the activities of organised crime groups and making the country an extremely hostile environment for them to operate is one of Police Scotland’s top priorities.
“There is no place for serious organised criminality in our society and, working in partnership with law enforcement agencies and the members of the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce, we will continue our fight against those involved in serious and organised crime to keep our communities safe.”
Anyone who has information or concerns about the sale and supply of drugs in their community is urged to contact Police Scotland via 101 or make a call anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
UK Government launches new strategy to cut fraud, pursue fraudsters and empower the public
A new elite team of specialist investigators will turn the tables on fraudsters as part of the UK Government’s new action to tackle fraud and stop scammers from exploiting people.
The new National Fraud Squad will overhaul how these crimes are investigated by taking a proactive, intelligence-led approach, backed by 400 new specialist investigators. It will work with local forces, international partners and the UK intelligence community to ensure that callous fraud cells who target millions of Brits each day are shut down.
Fraud is now the most common crime in the UK, with 1 in 15 of us falling victim, costing nearly £7 billion a year. With developments in modern technology opening up new avenues for criminals to target victims, 9 in 10 internet users have also encountered online scams.
The Fraud Strategy, unveiled yesterday, marks a step forward in the government’s fight back against scammers, in response to how these crimes have evolved.
New measures will close the routes that scammers use to target victims, including by banning cold calls on all financial products – such as types of insurance or sham crypto currency schemes – and working with Ofcom to use new technology to further clamp down on number ‘spoofing’, so fraudsters cannot impersonate legitimate UK phone numbers.
Government will also ban other devices or methods commonly harnessed by scammers to reach thousands of people at once such as so-called ‘SIM farms’ and review the use of mass texting services to keep these technologies out of the hands of criminals.
To make it easier for victims to report fraud and rebuild confidence that cases are being dealt with properly, a new system, replacing the current Action Fraud service will be up and running within the year.
Backed by a £30 million investment, it will provide a simpler route for reporting fraud online, with reduced waiting times and an online portal to allow victims to get timely updates on the progress of their case.
This improved service will also ensure victims’ reports are acted upon more effectively, using data to ensure we can continue to build intelligence as criminals continue to find new ways to target victims.
Seventy per cent of fraud in the UK either starts overseas or has an international link – to drive forward global efforts to tackle these crimes, the government will work bilaterally to raise fraud as a key priority. The Home Secretary will host the first global fraud summit in the UK to guarantee international collaboration to tackle this threat.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: Scammers ruin lives in seconds, deceiving people in the most despicable ways in order to line their pockets.
“We will take the fight to these fraudsters, wherever they try to hide. By blocking scams at the source, boosting protections for people and bolstering enforcement, we will stop more of these cold-hearted crimes from happening in the first place and make sure justice is done.”
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: “Fraud is a blight on our country with ruthless criminals scamming the British public out of their hard-earned cash. They exploit people’s trust and steal their life savings, shattering their confidence and leaving them feeling vulnerable.
“It also fuels serious organised crime and terrorism. Meanwhile scammers are adapting, taking advantage of new technology to prey on more victims.
“It is vital we adopt a new approach to this threat. The Fraud Strategy outlines how we will use all levers available to us – through government, law enforcement, industry and international partners – to track down these criminals, intercept their scams and bring them to justice.”
To push the response to fraud at the highest level, a new Anti-Fraud Champion, Anthony Browne MP, has been appointed. He will draw on his considerable experience as the former CEO of the British Banking Association to drive collaboration with industry and represent the UK internationally.
Anti-Fraud Champion, Anthony Browne MP said: “Fraud has grown to be the biggest form of crime in the UK, causing financial and emotional distress to millions of people.
“The tech sector, phone companies and financial services firms must take responsibility for protecting their users by stopping fraud happening in the first place, and work together to design out fraud. We can use the technologies fraudsters are exploiting against them to stop them in their tracks, and I will work with industry to make sure that happens.”
In plans announced yesterday, banks will be allowed to delay payments from being processed for longer to allow for suspicious payments to be investigated, keeping cash out of the hands of fraudsters and stopping more people from falling victim.
We are working with the largest tech companies to make it as simple as possible to report fraud online, whether it be scam adverts or false celebrity endorsements. This means, regardless of which social media platform you are on, you should be able to find the ‘report’ button within a single click, and ‘report fraud or scam’ within another. TikTok and Snapchat already offer this for adverts but have committed to extending to other types of content.
Further measures include:
rolling out tailored support to victims at a local level across the whole of England and Wales through the National Economic Crime Victim Care Unit
launching an independent review of the challenges in investigating and prosecuting fraud to speed up the justice process, punishing more scammers and ensuring sentences match the severity of the impact on victims
deploying the UK intelligence community to identify and disrupt more fraudsters overseas
publishing regular data on the volume of fraudulent content hosted on different websites and platforms to incentivise companies to root these out and better protect users – government will launch a consultation on how best to deliver this, including regularity of publications
Wednesday’s plans build on action already taken to step up protections for victims and clamp down on the criminals responsible for these crimes. That includes:
legislating to ensure more victims of fraud get their money back, by requiring financial institutions to reimburse victims of authorised fraud
making fraud a national priority for police forces, to help ramp up the response at local force level
investing £400 million for law enforcement to tackle economic crime, including fraud, over the next 3 years
new duties on tech companies through the Online Safety Bill to put systems in place to tackle scams on their platforms and publish annual transparency reports on their work to tackle online harms
Graeme Biggar, Director General of the National Crime Agency, said: “The NCA welcomes the new Fraud Strategy and our role in the National Fraud Squad.
“Through the National Economic Crime Centre, we will drive a proactive intelligence led response, holding fraudsters to account and protecting the public from criminals who operate increasingly online and overseas.
“We want fraudsters to feel the same vulnerability they inflict upon their victims, as we target their infrastructure, expose their identities and bring them to justice.”
Commissioner Angela McLaren from the City of London Police, which is the National Lead Force for fraud, said: “We welcome this strategy and the much-needed investment in policing to deliver against it.
“Tackling fraud requires a collective effort and we will continue to work with our partners across law enforcement and industry, doing everything in our power to pursue fraudsters and reduce the devastating harm they cause.”
Greater powers to tackle child sexual abuse online will be introduced through an amendment to the Online Safety Bill, the Home Secretary announced yesterday (Wednesday 6 July 2022).
The amendment will give Ofcom extra tools to ensure technology companies take action to prevent, identify and remove harmful child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE) content.
Ofcom, the UK’s regulatory authority for telecommunications, will be able to demand that technology companies such as social media platforms roll out or develop new technologies to better detect and tackle harmful content on their platforms. If they fail to do so, Ofcom will be able to impose fines of up to £18 million or 10% of the company’s global annual turnover, depending on which is higher.
Home Secretary, Priti Patel said: “Child sexual abuse is a sickening crime. We must all work to ensure criminals are not allowed to run rampant online and technology companies must play their part and take responsibility for keeping our children safe.
“Privacy and security are not mutually exclusive – we need both, and we can have both and that is what this amendment delivers.”
The National Crime Agency estimate there are between 550,000 to 850,000 people in the UK who pose a sexual risk to children. In the year to 2021, there were 33,974 obscene publications offences recorded by the police, and although some improvements have been made, it is still too easy for offenders to access harmful content online.
Access to such content online can lead to offenders normalising their own consumption of this content, sharing methods with each other on how to evade detection, and escalation to committing contact child sexual abuse offences.
Digital Minister, Nadine Dorries said:“Tech firms have a responsibility not to provide safe spaces for horrendous images of child abuse to be shared online. Nor should they blind themselves to these awful crimes happening on their sites.
Rob Jones, NCA Director General for child sexual abuse, said:“Technology plays an extremely important part in our daily lives and its benefits are undeniable.
“But it is also a fact that online platforms can be a key tool in a child abuser’s arsenal. They use them to view and share abuse material, seek out and groom potential victims, and to discuss their offending with each other.
“Identifying these individuals online is crucial to us uncovering the real-world abuse of children.
“We are taking significant action in this space and, alongside UK policing, we are making record numbers of arrests and safeguards every month.
“While this will always be a priority, we need tech companies to be there on the front line with us and these new measures will ensure that.”
Sir Peter Wanless, NSPCC Chief Executive, said:“We need urgent action to protect children from preventable online abuse. Our latest analysis shows online grooming crimes have jumped by more than 80% in four years.
“The Online Safety Bill is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to ensure children can explore the online world safely.
“This amendment will strengthen protections around private messaging and ensure companies have a responsibility to build products with child safety in mind. This positive step shows there doesn’t have to be a trade-off between privacy and detecting and disrupting child abuse material and grooming.”
The amendment will support innovation and the development of safety technologies across the technology industry and will incentivise companies in building solutions to tackle CSEA which are effective and proportionate.
The government-funded Safety Tech Challenge Fund is demonstrating that is it is possible to detect child sexual abuse material in end-to-end encrypted environments, while respecting user privacy.
A 42-year-old man from the Czech Republic has today, Monday, 1 February 2021, been convicted of money laundering offences after being arrested at Glasgow Airport as part of a Police Scotland and National Crime Agency (NCA) intelligence-led investigation into the export of cash from the United Kingdom to Dubai.
On 8 November 2020, Lukas Pokorny was stopped and arrested by Border Force officers as he was about to board a flight bound for Dubai.
A search of three suitcases in his possession revealed a large quantity of cash in each – totalling over £860,000. He was unable to provide keys to unlock the luggage, or say who they belonged to or what they contained.
Officers from the Organised Crime Partnership (Scotland) charged Pokorny and today he pled guilty to three charges under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 at the High Court in Glasgow.
Pokorny claimed he was flying to the United Arab Emirate to stay with a friend and the money was to allow him to teach people to jet-ski.
Detective Inspector Tom Gillan of the Organised Crime Partnership (Scotland) said: “Targeting the movement of criminal cash and profits from organised crime groups in Scotland remains a priority.
“The arrest and conviction of Pokorny is another excellent example of the value of partnership working between Organised Crime Partnership, Border Force and National Crime Agency officers.
“I welcome his conviction and the significant amount of laundered cash that has been taken out of criminal circulation.”
NCA regional head of investigations for Scotland Gerry McLean added: “This was a significant seizure of criminal cash, the proceeds of organised crime. Taking it out in has prevented that money being invested into further criminal activity, violence and exploitation on the streets of Scotland.
“Working with partners including Police Scotland and Border Force we are determined to do all we can to disrupt the flow of illicit finance.”
The Organised Crime Partnership (Scotland) is an investigation team comprising of officers and staff from Police Scotland and the National Crime Agency.
Police Scotland continues to work with partners to severely disrupt the activities of serious and organised criminals operating in Scotland – following the seizure of controlled drugs with a street value of over £25 million in recent weeks.
Cocaine, heroin, cannabis, herbal cannabis and thousands of Etizolam tablets have been recovered and officers have arrested 59 people. Over £7 million of laundered cash and a number of firearms, ammunition, explosives and industrial pill presses have also been seized. Six stolen cars and a stolen motorcycle have also been recovered.
Activity has taken place across the country as part of Operation Venetic – the most significant ever UK operation into serious and organised crime involving Police Scotland, the National Crime Agency (NCA) and police forces across the UK.
The operation has culminated in the takedown of Encrochat, an encrypted global communication service used exclusively by criminals, which offered a secure mobile phone instant messaging service. The company’s encryption has now been cracked by an international law enforcement team.
In Scotland, more than 50 warrants have been executed by hundreds of officers at addresses throughout the country.
Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable Angela McLaren said: “Police Scotland’s is absolutely committed to disrupting those involved in serious and organised crime in Scotland.
“These intelligence-led proactive operations, which have been undertaken in partnership with the NCA, UK police forces and Border Force, have resulted in some of the largest seizures made by the service.
“Keeping people safe and continuing to make the country a hostile environment for those who seek to bring misery to our communities through their organised criminality remains a priority for Police Scotland.
“This underlines our commitment to the country’s Serious and Organised Crime Strategy through the SOC Taskforce and our collective determination to target those involved and strike at the very centre of their illicit operations. Criminals do not recognise borders and we have been working closely with our UK and European law enforcement partners throughout this intense period of activity.
“We recognise the impact that serious and organised crime has on individuals and communities. I would urge anyone who has information that can assist us in tackling criminality, or anyone that needs our help or support, to get in touch with Police Scotland or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
Jennifer Harrower, Procurator Fiscal for Specialist Casework, said: “These recent operations by law enforcement in Scotland exemplify our determination and capability to pursue those involved in serious and organised crime and halt the damage they do to our local communities.
“These seizures and arrests are the result of months of extensive work, but it doesn’t stop there. COPFS will use all the available resources to bring to justice those who seek to profit from serious and organised crime. This includes staff and prosecutors who are experts in preparing and prosecuting these kind of cases, and a raft of legislation created in Scotland specifically to target serious and organised criminals.
“Beyond this, we will seek Serious Crime Prevention Orders to provide security for communities when those prosecuted are released from prison, and pursue them for their proceeds of crime to be restored to the communities where they belong.”
Gerry Mclean, the NCA’s Regional Head of Investigations for Scotland, said: “This piece of activity in Scotland and across the UK was unprecedented in scale. It is without doubt the broadest and deepest ever operation into serious organised crime, with the people targeted at the top end of the criminal tree.
“The NCA has worked with international partners and every single police force across the UK, but the extraordinary results we have had here is testimony to the partnership we have with Police Scotland, the support from COPFs and the strategy set by Scotland’s Organised Crime Task Force.
“By working together we have had tremendous success in penetrating organised criminal networks, seizing huge amounts of criminal cash, stopping firearms and drugs reaching our streets and protecting the people of Scotland.”
A father and son have been charged as part of a joint National Crime Agency and Police Scotland investigation into the large-scale importation of the new psychoactive substance kratom.
The pair, aged 60 and 38, were arrested as officers from the Organised Crime Partnership executed two warrants in the Bathgate area of West Lothian on Tuesday 12 May.
The arrests followed two seizures of kratom made by Border Force, one of 52 kilos at Edinburgh Airport on 15 April, and another of 102 kilos at East Midlands Airport on 6 May.
Kratom is a controlled substance under the New Psychoactive Substances Act 2016, traditionally grown in south-east Asia and used as a stimulant with opioid-like properties.
The two men were charged with importation, possession with intent to supply and offering for supply the drug, and have both been released pending a summons to appear before court on a future date.
Investigations are continuing.
NCA Scotland operations manager John McGowan said: “We estimate these seizures would have had a combined value of around £60,000 once sold on the black market.
“Kratom is a dangerous drug, and working with partners like Police Scotland and Border Force we are determined to do all we can to prevent such substances making it on to our streets and damaging the communities of Scotland.”
Deputy Director Murdo MacMillan, head of Border Force Scotland, said: “These seizures have taken a large amount of dangerous psychoactive substances out of the hands of organised criminals and off our streets.
“Border Force will continue to work with the NCA and Police Scotland to bring those involved in smuggling to justice.”
There are at least 181,000 offenders linked to serious and organised crime in the UK, the National Crime Agency has revealed, as it launched its most comprehensive study yet of ‘the deadliest threat facing the nation’.
The figure – more than twice the strength of the regular British Army – is a conservative estimate as it only takes into account known members of organised crime groups and offenders operating on the worst child abuse dark web sites. Continue reading Scale of organised crime “truly staggering”
