Scotland - John McHugh, 54, and Joseph Boland, 54, both from Busby along with Martin Gray, 41, from Ardrossan and Garry Ralph, 38, from Glasgow, were arrested in July 2009, and over one tonne of cannabis resin was seized. It was the largest single drugs seizure made by the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency SCDEA during 2009-10.
The four men pled guilty at the High Court in Glasgow on Monday to being involved in the supply of cannabis resin.
It is thought that the group, headed by McHugh, imported the drugs from mainland Europe for onward supply in Scotland.
Working as part of a surveillance operation, officers witnessed the drugs, wrapped in 34 individual bales, being delivered in a van to business premises in Paisley. McHugh and Boland were seen unloading the drugs from the van. The van was found to be associated with a company operated by McHugh.
Gray and Ralph were both arrested after being seen taking quantities of the drugs from the premises. Officers then detained McHugh and Boland at the industrial unit where they were found with just under 800 kilograms of cannabis resin, valued at £2.4m.
Detective Chief Superintendent Allan Moffat, head of the SCDEA investigations group said: "These men were intending to supply significant amounts of cannabis to parts of Scotland, and the seizures made during this investigation provide a clear indication of the level of profit these individuals would have generated from their criminal activity."
"Cannabis remains to be the most widely misused controlled drug in Scotland and represents a real threat to Scotland's communities. Too many of Scotland's communities are affected by the fear, intimidation and violence associated with the illegal drugs trade.
"Working in partnership with Scotland's police forces and other agencies, we are determined to track the criminal networks that supply these harmful substances and bring those responsible to justice."
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: STV News
Copyright: 2010 stv.tv
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
The four men pled guilty at the High Court in Glasgow on Monday to being involved in the supply of cannabis resin.
It is thought that the group, headed by McHugh, imported the drugs from mainland Europe for onward supply in Scotland.
Working as part of a surveillance operation, officers witnessed the drugs, wrapped in 34 individual bales, being delivered in a van to business premises in Paisley. McHugh and Boland were seen unloading the drugs from the van. The van was found to be associated with a company operated by McHugh.
Gray and Ralph were both arrested after being seen taking quantities of the drugs from the premises. Officers then detained McHugh and Boland at the industrial unit where they were found with just under 800 kilograms of cannabis resin, valued at £2.4m.
Detective Chief Superintendent Allan Moffat, head of the SCDEA investigations group said: "These men were intending to supply significant amounts of cannabis to parts of Scotland, and the seizures made during this investigation provide a clear indication of the level of profit these individuals would have generated from their criminal activity."
"Cannabis remains to be the most widely misused controlled drug in Scotland and represents a real threat to Scotland's communities. Too many of Scotland's communities are affected by the fear, intimidation and violence associated with the illegal drugs trade.
"Working in partnership with Scotland's police forces and other agencies, we are determined to track the criminal networks that supply these harmful substances and bring those responsible to justice."
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: STV News
Copyright: 2010 stv.tv
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
