Scotland's crime fighting agency captured 73 high-profile gangsters in the past year, its director said.

The Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) said it is taking more drugs off the streets and capturing more criminals than in previous years.

The agency's annual report showed that in 2010-11 it arrested 195 people, including 73 serious offenders known as "level 3" criminals, compared with 136 the previous year.

They included major players in the drug trade, such as Sohaib Qureshi, who trafficked cocaine in Scotland, the Caribbean and South America. He was jailed in March for 12 years after Operation Klaxon.

SCDEA director general, Deputy Chief Constable Gordon Meldrum, stated in the report: "In 2010-11 we arrested 195 people, 73 of whom were level 3 criminals: the ringleaders of organised crime.

"Making those arrests at this level is increasingly important in order to target those at the top of the criminal hierarchy and disrupt their chain of command."

According to the report, SCDEA seized 1,376kg of illegal drugs worth £33 million in 2010-11. This included 80.5kg of class A drugs, worth around £21 million.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: "I am delighted to see that work led by the SCDEA over the last year has continued to cut right to the core of illegal activities by groups operating in Scotland.

"Every arrest made related to serious organised crime is a step towards getting these despicable groups out of our communities."