Scottish drug trafficker used help of former cop to smuggle €8m worth drugs into Ireland

Lawrence Phee, 51, made £7,060,500 (€8.35m) from his operation a proceeds of crime hearing was told in Edinburgh this week but he is handing over just one percent of that figure to authorities.

Despite his lucrative income, Phee who is serving an eight and a half year sentence for drug dealing, only had £75,557.41 (nin assets available.

Prosecutors accepted an offer from his defence team to hand over that sum.

Phee, of Airdrie, Lanarkshire was previously prosecuted for running the operation between November 1, 2017 and December 1, 2018.

A court heard he organised 15 shipments to be made from Spain into the UK and Ireland.

Prosecutor Alan Cameron said: "The drugs were transported from Alicante region of Spain to the UK with industrial machinery.

"The drugs were hidden and then transported in lorry trailers run by a variety of individuals and companies.

“The drivers of the vehicles and the operators of the transport companies were, at times, unaware of the presence of drugs."

The quantity of drugs smuggled as part of his operation was not known to prosecutors.

However they detailed some of the hauls linked to Phee including a seizure of 4kg of cocaine, 23kg of herbal cannabis and 5072 bars of cannabis resin which were valued at £600,000 in Scotland and €1 million in Ireland at wholesale prices and with a potential street value of £1.8m in the UK and over three million Euros in Ireland.

Former British Transport Police Inspector David Brown was caught with the drugs at Cairnryan ferry port in Scotland.

Brown and Phee were jailed last year.

Speaking after their jailing Jennifer Harrower, procurator fiscal for specialist casework, said: "This was an extensive operation that brought significant quantities of illegal and harmful drugs into and through Scotland.

"Phee and his associates tried to conceal their crimes but were ultimately foiled thanks to co-operation between law enforcement agencies and COPFS.

"Drugs do great harm to communities across Scotland and we will continue to work as a key part of the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce to protect those communities."