Five guilty of organised crime in £4m cocaine and dirty money ring

Five men have pleaded guilty to being involved in serious organised crime after police exposed a £4m cocaine and dirty money ring.

The High Court in Glasgow heard that the gang was caught during a major probe, with detectives uncovering a drugs lab set up in a bedroom of a flat in Glasgow’s Lambhill.

The arrests were among a number during the Operation Silhouette investigation into the crime gang between 2023 and 2024.

Ian McIntyre, 31, Kieran Doherty, 30, Calum McKelvie, 29, Jack Sanderson, 34, and Martin Tracey, 31, have now all each pled guilty to a charge of being involved in serious organised crime.

They will be sentenced next month.

Prosecutor Derick Nelson told the High Court in Glasgow: “The indictment is one of several emanating from a large scale covert police operation which was carried out and focussed on a group of individuals who appear to be linked.

“The group were to be involved in the large scale supply of illicit drugs and laundering of cash collected.

“Evidence of the supply included the discovery of what is described by police as a ‘drugs factory’.

“Using a safe house for storage of money (the then home of Doherty in Gartcosh, Lanarkshire) large amounts of cash were received and transferred to finance the manufacture, division and supply of drugs.

“McIntyre was seen to attend regularly often carrying a weighted bag to and from the property.

“Surveillance showed him either receiving bags or delivering them to others, who were later found in possession of large amounts of cash.

“Along with a network of others, McKelvie, Sanderson and Tracey operated as couriers.”

The court was then told of a series of the group’s illicit activities.

In early May and June 2023, there were separate dirty cash handovers of £100,000, £67,020 and £51,110.

McIntyre went on to meet a criminial associate at a cafe in Glasgow’s west-end.

Mr Nelson: “They were heard by police to be describing ‘not doubling the money, but trebling it’.”

Detectives got information that a large sum of cash had been passed to the driver of a silver Vauxhall Corsa, who was on the M74 southbound on March 8 2024.

The car was stopped and a total of £199,530 was found inside.

The man told police he had been told to take the cash to a phone shop in Manchester and was to be paid £950.

Other seizures included £207,270 being found taped-up in bags in the boot of a car stopped near Longforgan, Perth and Kinross, another £101,000 at a flat in Glasgow’s Whiteinch as well as a man being caught with £51,000 of ill-gotten gains after a stop off at a city centre hotel.

In connection with drugs, police discovered 15 blocks of cocaine with a potential value of £1.5m after a car was stopped near Dundee in September 2023.

Mr Nelson: “Each package had a handwritten image of a smiling face and the letter ‘M’ marked on it.”

Another £290,000 class A consignment was discovered in a car which had a secret compartment fitted to hide illicit goods.

Police swooped at the drugs factory in May 2024. Sanderson and Tracey had been seen going into the block.

The court heard officers immediately detected a “a strong smell of chemicals”.

Mr Nelson: “On entering a bedroom, officers discovered three males wearing gloves and industrials respirators.

“The floor was covered by a blue tarpaulin, the windows had been blacked out and were lying ajar.

“In open view were blocks of white powder, a microwave, an oven and a hydraulic press.

“Operating throughout were large industrial fans.”

Sanderson and Tracey were two of the men found at the lab.

Mr Nelson stated the bedroom had been “set up as a factory for processing cocaine”.

This involved this use of a chemical for “washing” the powder and other equipment.

Various hauls of the drug were found in the flat – some with a purity of 80%.

The cocaine found there had a potential value of £1.47m.

Raids took place at 13 different addresses linked to the gang on November 29 2024 in what was described as a “day of action” for investigating officers.

McIntyre, of Cambuslang, Lanarkshire, Doherty, of Parkhead, Glasgow, McKelvie, of Barrhead, Renfrewshire, Sanderson, of Renfrew, and Tracey, of the city’s Mosspark, had been on bail, but were remanded in custody by Lord Arthurson.

Sentencing was adjourned for reports.