FOUR SCOTS FOUND GUILTY OVER DRUG HAUL IN EXCESS OF £25M

16 May 2003 06:45 PM

Four Scots were found guilty today at Glasgow High Court smuggling half a tonne of cocaine into the UK though the Port of Grangemouth,

Customs Minister John Healey, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, said:

"This operation involved close co-operation between Customs officers from Suffolk to Scotland to catch traffickers in possession of smuggled drugs. It is an excellent example of a flexible, intelligence-led national organisation working across the country, using information gleaned worldwide and 21st century detection methods to tackle 21st century crime.

"The removal of over £25 million worth of cocaine from the criminal supply chain demonstrates how Customs, working together with the SDEA and other agencies across the UK, are making a real impact on the Class A drugs problem.

"We want to make sure that dangerous drugs do not reach ours streets."

David Howitt Frew, 12/9/47, of 17 A Claremont Crescent, Kilwinning, was found guilty by majority verdict. Sentencing is to take place at Edinburgh High Court on 6th June 2003.

James Mair, 12/11/64, of 49 Auchenleck Road, Cumnock, was found guilty by majority verdict. Sentencing is to take place at Edinburgh High Court on 6th June 2003.

Sean Collins McAdam, 27/1/67, of 42 Wood Wind, Kilwinning, was found guilty by majority verdict. Sentencing is to take place at Edinburgh High Court on 6th June 2003.

William Cairn Grant, 5/10/64, of 8 Main Street, Bothell, was found guilty by majority verdict. Sentencing is to take place at Edinburgh High Court on 6th June 2003

William Simpson McAdam, 9/11/62, of 14 Abbots Avenue, Kilwinning, was found not guilty by a unanimous verdict.

Following the discovery at Felixstowe of half a tonne of the Class A drug - with an estimated street value of £50 million -, Customs mounted a major operation to replace the drugs with a dummy load and follow the drugs to the port of Grangemouth in Scotland. At that point the Customs set up a joint operation with the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency.

Notes for editors

Background to case.
The drugs arrived at the port of Felixstowe on a container ship, the "Magleby Maersk" en route from Panama to Grangemouth. Three freight containers from the ship with a consignment of bales of rubber were x-rayed. Two of the consignments were as described but one appeared to contain a concealment. Of the 507 bales, 125 were suspect and on closer examination these were found to contain a white substance later identified as cocaine.

The drugs were removed by Customs Officers in Felixstowe and were replaced with a dummy load. The consignment was released to continue its journey from Felixstowe to Grangemouth where it was transported by road to a storage facility in Stepps, Glasgow. It remained there for 8 days under constant observation by Customs staff. On the 1st October 2002, 2 pallets from the consignment of rubber were tracked by Customs Officers as they were transferred to an industrial unit in Kilwinning, Ayrshire . At the premises in Kilwinning, the suspects started to break up the consignment and at that point Customs "knocked" both the Kilwinning and Stepps sites. Four men were arrested and have been given custodial sentences today.

1. Cocaine is a Class A drug. Under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 the maximum penalty for supply and possession is life imprisonment.

2. HM Customs and Excise is the lead agency in the Government Strategy to reduce the availability of Class A drugs on the streets.

If using specific facts contained in this release please check the information is still current.

For the attention of News Desks
Anyone with information about illegally imported drugs, tobacco or alcohol or about VAT fraud can speak to a Customs officer in complete confidence. Call Customs Confidential 24 hours a day on 0800 59 5000 www.hmce.gov.uk