Garage owner dealing drugs and guns caught after EncroChat cracked by police

A garage owner caught dealing in drugs and guns after claiming he wanted to stay “off the radar” has been jailed for six years.

Kristopher Kinnaird was involved in the trafficking of at least £660,000 of cocaine and cannabis, as well as being a “middleman” in sourcing weapons, including a submachine gun.

The 42-year-old communicated with associates on the EncroChat phone network, which was favoured by criminals.

A criminal associate sent Kinnaird an image of a gloved hand holding a self-loading pistol. Crown Office

In one encrypted message, he stated: “I just plod away – stay off the radar. Don’t need to try and make a million quid or try to be gangster.

“Don’t need jail bait myself up. I have a nice house, a MOT station, motors, some dough.

“I am maybe looking to jump ship now because my mob have been having problems up here.”

Kinnaird sent an image of this block of cocaine to a criminal associate Crown Office

Kinnaird was caught after the EncroChat service was smashed by the law authorities in 2020.

He was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow.

Kinnaird had pleaded guilty last month to a charge of being involved in serious organised crime between November 2019 and June 2020.

His jail term was cut from nine years due to the guilty plea.

Kinnaird – director of KK Auto Solutions and an MOT centre in the city’s Maryhill – was involved in the supply of £120,000 cocaine every six weeks during the seven-month period.

He also dealt in a total of 16kg of cannabis, valued at £5,500 per kilo.

Kinnaird sent an image of drugs to a criminal associate Crown Office

Kinnaird used the name “Verbosetsailor” on Encrochat.

Messages and photos on EncroChat revealed he had been involved in trafficking cocaine and cannabis.

Kinnaird complained at one stage that he had spent £100,000 on cocaine and was “struggling to recoup the money” due to the then Covid restrictions and the quality of the drugs.

There were also texts with various individuals about sourcing large consignments and bulking them out with another substance to maximise profits.

The court heard Kinnaird was also in touch with a dealer who stated he got cannabis directly from Vietnam.

Kinnaird was told that the cost of that drug had soared due to the “lockdown”.

Kinnaird sent an associate a photo of a Scorpion Evo 3 machine gun in late April 2020 and indicated that he would meet the person who possessed the firearm and advise a price.

The court heard how he agreed to act as a middleman in the sale and purchase of the firearm.

Kinnaird was later sent another picture of someone clutching a pistol.

This individual offered to sell him the weapon for £6,000, but Kinnaird claimed it was “too expensive”.

Another EncroChat associate known as “IrnBrew” contacted Kinnaird to see if he had any bullets for a firearm.

Kinnaird said he did not, but indicated that he had a ‘John Wayne’ style revolver and would ask about securing ‘pen guns’ to sell to “IrnBrew”.

He sent an image of a ‘pen gun’ to this individual. He was also in contact with someone else boasting how these types of weapons were “singo shot pens, belters”.