Gang from central belt planned to flood Inverness with cocaine, heroin and Etizolam
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A GANG caught with more than £600,000 of cocaine, heroin and Etizolam planned to flood Inverness with drugs, a court was told today.
Five men and two women admitted being involved in the supply of drugs between November 2018 and March this year.
These charges at the High Court in Glasgow were aggravated by a connection with serious organised crime.
Donald Dunbar (61), Sean Gordon (28), Kenneth MacKenzie (25), Stephen Kelly (31) and Karen Reynolds (51) all from Glasgow, and Danielle Finlay (30) from Hamilton, and Kieran Adams (28) from Clydebank were remanded in custody and will be sentenced next month.
Prosecutor Richard Goddard QC told the court: “This case relates to the large-scale distribution of drugs to the Inverness area. The source of the drugs was Glasgow.”
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 aggravation of a connection to serious organised crime is the case of the accused, other than Kelly and Adams, is to reflect that the various accused agreed to become involved in the supply of controlled drugs, a crime committed with the intention of obtaining a material benefit.”
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.
Finlay's Honda Civic car was stopped at Drumnadrochit, Inverness-shire on January 16, by police.
Finlay, an administrative assistant with Argyll and Clyde Council, was asked if there were any drugs in the car.
She replied: “What's in the car is a long time in jail.”
Drugs with a maximum street value of £151,040 were found in a rucksack on her front passenger seat.
MacKenzie was arrested at Inverness Railway Station on November 20, 2018, and cocaine and heroin was found in his holdall with a maximum street value of £78,320.
Dunbar was stopped at the car park at Travelodge Motor Services Area, Stirling, on December 12 last year.
A search of his Peugeot revealed cocaine with a maximum street value of £51,500 and heroin with a maximum street value of £66,400.
Gordon was stopped on the A9 at Tomatin, Inverness on February 5. He had cocaine and heroin with a maximum street value of £99,560 hidden under the boot liner of his Renault Megane.
Adams and Kelly were the subject of undercover surveillance.
Adams was detained outside a hotel in Inverness on February 6. He had £8300 of cocaine on him and Etizolam pills worth £56,183 were found in a nearby cottage he had been using.
Kelly was caught in Argyle Street, Glasgow, on March 7 with a rucksack containing cocaine and heroin with a street value of £30,290.
A search of Reynolds' flat which Kelly had just left revealed thousands of Etizolam pills with a street value of £105,700 hidden under a bed. Police also found £2300 worth of cocaine.
As police were searching the flat Adams turned up. He fled when he saw the police and while running snapped a SIM card in half and threw a mobile phone to the ground.
The total amount of drugs seized by the police had a maximum street value of £649,593.
