Lanarkshire man jailed for multi-million pound drug smuggling operation from South America

A Lanarkshire man has been jailed for his part in a multi-million pound Class A drug smuggling operation.

Stephen Gough, 47, has been sentenced to five years in prison for the scheme that saw cocaine and heroin brought from South America to Scotland.

Gough was found guilty at the High Court in Paisley for his activities between March and June 2020.

Prosecutors were able to connect calls and messages on the encrypted Encrochat platform, tying Gough and co-accused Tony Bennet to the crimes.

They were able to prove that the pair were using pseudonyms to talk to each other about drug dealing.

Gough denied he was the user of the Encrochat handle, however, images were posted showing the interior of his home and even of himself.

Another revealed they had approximately £217,000 in a bank account.

Gough also posted an image showing large amounts of bundled banknotes on his kitchen floor.

Bennett, 35, was imprisoned for three years and nine months in September 2023 after being convicted of using secret laboratories to refine the drugs from Ecuador.

They were then supplied and sold to dealers throughout Scotland.

Gough, of Uddingston, was responsible for overseeing cash collected through the supply of the Class A drugs.

His role was to ensure that cash from drug dealers was properly collected and counted.

He was arrested in August 2021 following a police raid on his home.

Sineidin Corrins, deputy procurator fiscal for Specialist Casework at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said: “Stephen Gough was an integral part of an international cartel along with others to import large quantities of Class A drugs into Scotland.

“These drugs would have caused immense harm. But with these convictions, we have removed these drugs from the streets and made communities safer.

“This successful prosecution reinforces our determination to continue to disrupt serious organised crime.

“We will continue to collaborate with our partners as a member of Scotland’s Serious and Organised Crime Taskforce to tackle serious organised crime and this kind of case highlights the extensive work that has been ongoing against these groups.”

Gough will now be the subject of confiscation action under Proceeds of Crime laws to recover monies illegally obtained.