Three men caught in a £1m drugs and dirty money organised crime raid have been jailed.
Steven Black, 49, Lee Johnston, 39, and Robert Turkiewicz, 47, were snared after police swooped on a number of properties in Airdrie and Shotts, North Lanarkshire, in June 2020.
More than £1m in cash was seized alongside cannabis and cocaine with a street value of £37,500.
The trio were sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow on Thursday after earlier pleading guilty to a series of organised crime and drugs charges.
Black was jailed for nine years, while Johnston and Turkiewicz both received 27-month terms behind bars.
Judge Douglas Brown stated that messages recovered from an encrypted phone showed Black boasting that his net worth as a result of his criminal activities was around £2m.
The judge said: “In relation to drug dealing on this scale, particularly when it involves a class A drug such as cocaine, a substantial sentence of imprisonment has to be imposed.
“Not just as a punishment, but also to discourage others who may be aware of how much money can be generated by drug dealing and be tempted to get involved.”
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Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Ferry said the “significant seizure” from the intelligence-led operation would have caused disruption to the local supply chain of illegal substances.
He added: “Police Scotland will not allow criminals and organised crime groups to profit from other people’s misery.
“We know that individuals and communities are deeply affected by the drugs trade.
“Information from the public is vital as part of our work to bring those responsible for making and supplying illegal substances to justice.”
