Operation Venetic: 76 sentenced in Scotland as police target encrypted crime networks

One of Scotland’s most senior police officers has told STV News he will “exploit every opportunity” to bring organised crime gangs to justice – and that involves working with international partners “on an almost daily basis.”

Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Houston was speaking as the force revealed details of its involvement in Operation Venetic – cracking down on criminals using encrypted messaging services like EncroChat.

A total of 76 people have now been sentenced in Scotland as a result – with their jail terms totalling 349 years.

ACC Houston said: “This operation started off with a lot of engagement work between the National Crime Agency and other foreign law enforcement dating back to 2020.

“But we still see the culmination of the work of that ongoing today. We know the number of people that we have been able to gather evidence on, report and subsequently convict for significant organised crime offences, including firearms and the supply of drugs.

“A lot of this was built on analysing data that was obtained and being able to go through that in a meticulous way to ensure that we were able to prove individuals’ criminality, the networks of organised crime groups, but then being able to present it in such a way that it made compelling evidence.”

In recent months there have been a number of high-profile convictions following the operation.

They include David Stephen and Shaun Paul Brown who have both been jailed for six years and eight months.

The pair were involved in the purchase, storage and distribution of cocaine valued at £12m.

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David Stephen and Shaun Brown appeared respectable, sponsoring a Scottish Premiership football club

They had claimed to be legitimate businessmen and sponsored Scottish Premiership football club Motherwell through a home improvements company.

In recent months lengthy jail sentences have been also been handed to individuals caught by Operation Portaledge – the investigation into the ongoing gang feud which has seen shootings and firebombings across the central belt.

Much of it is said to be linked to the dispute between the Lyons and Daniel families.

The head of the Lyons clan – Steven Lyons – was this week extradited from the Netherlands to Spain where he is facing allegations of involvement in drug trafficking, money laundering and murder.

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The 45-year-old has been held in Amsterdam since he was deported from Indonesia.

ACC Houston added: “Criminality doesn’t recognise borders and that’s why it’s really important for us at Police Scotland about how we engage with partners not just within the UK but beyond – through Europol, Interpol and into some of the law enforcement partners across the globe.

“We’re able to interact on pretty much a daily basis through the sharing of intelligence but also, where there are joint investigations that we carried out, we’re able to conduct those against what are really sophisticated criminal networks.”

He said that while technology and international police work play a major role, information from the public is crucial too.

“Intelligence from the communities of Scotland is essential for us and the fact is that it builds a picture – and something that may take place in the community of Scotland may have far-reaching impacts in another part of the world.

“It’s about us being able to have that information to analyse it to be able to work towards how we can use that in evidential cases in the future, but also to ensure that we are providing the best possible protection to the people and the communities of Scotland.”