Former drug lord jailed after return to organised crime 'spectacularly backfired'

A former crime boss has been jailed after his plan to make money through organised crime “spectacularly backfired”.

Roy Dunstance was jailed for 11 years in 2015 for running a major trafficking operation from his Spanish hideout.

Police seized almost £8m of heroin as well as deadly weapons and other drugs during a series of raids in Scotland.

Dunstance was freed early from HMP Shotts in August 2022 – almost four years before his sentence was due to expire.

The 49-year-old moved into a rented two-bedroom flat in Lochgilphead, Argyll and Bute, after being released.

Dunstance attracted the attention of police again in September last year when a shipment of 54kg of “white powder” was intercepted by Home Office officials at London’s Heathrow Airport.

It had been sent from China and marked for Dunstance, but addressed to the property next door to his.

Prosecutor Neil McCulloch told the High Court in Glasgow how the powder, found to be a form of paracetamol, could be mixed with caffeine to make a substance known as “bash”.

This could then be used to help bulk out drugs to maximise profits for dealers.

Mr McCulloch said if it were used to mix with heroin, there was a “potential value” of raking in more than £750,000.

Police focused on Dunstance, and he was stopped outside his home last October.

The advocate depute: “The property was searched – there were some items recovered associated with the adulteration of controlled drugs.

“These included clear bags, a blender, and scales.”

Police also seized a number of handwritten notes with references to certain countries where narcotics were considered “legal highs”.

There were further comments about “commercial drones” as well as “various contacts” listed, some believed to be based in England.

Dunstance made no comment when questioned by officers.

It led to Dunstance being brought into the dock again, where he pleaded guilty to a charge of being involved in serious organised crime.

His lawyer told the hearing that the former gang boss, previously said to have profited by more than £1m from drug trafficking, had been “financially struggling” at the time.

John Scullion, defending, said the boxes of white powder had been detected by the authorities “almost immediately”. It had been a plan by Dunstance, “destined to failure”.

The KC added: “The circumstances are redolent of a desperate attempt, at a lower level, to make money, which spectacularly backfired.

“He now bitterly regrets further involvement in criminality.”

Lord Matthews jailed Dunstance for three years and four months, cutting the term from five years due to his guilty plea.

He must, however, first serve six months of the sentence he was previously freed from.

Dunstance gave a beaming smile and a thumbs up to a woman in court as he returned to the cells.

The case in 2015 heard how Dunstance’s gang had been in the “top 5%” of crime organisations in the country at that time.

He was caught as part of the large-scale Operation Brora police probe.

Detectives had managed to hack into messages that showed how Dunstance was directing crew members from his home in Spain.

He was later extradited from the Netherlands to face justice.

David Hawthorne – one of his trusted lieutenants – was separately jailed for nine years in 2014 for his role in manning safe houses for drugs and firearms in Drumchapel, Glasgow.

Dunstance was also an associate of Euan “EJ” Johnston, gunned down in a gangland killing in the city in 2016.