A man who attempted to transport large quantities of drugs into West Lothian and another male who stored drugs in his home in Bathgate have both been jailed.
Colin Flannigan and Graeme Stear (Pictured above) have been sentenced to three years and three years four months respectively after being arrested in July and September last year.
Flannigan was stopped on the on the northbound carriageway of the M74, near Glasgow, and found with nearly 100 kilos of cannabis in his car. The drugs were bound for communities across West Lothian.
A further search of the 45-year-old’s home address in Bathgate resulted in a kilogramme of cocaine being recovered from under his bed.
In addition, Stear’s house in Bathgate was searched on 15th September and the officers seized 93 kilos of cannabis and 10 kilos of amphetamine. The value of the drugs recovered was approximately £500,000.
The sentencing of 37-year-old Stear comes after Colin Flannigan was jailed earlier this month.
Recently, John Gorrian, 49, and Steven Gibb, 20, were also given prison sentences at the High Court in Edinburgh for similar offences.
Gorrian was sentenced to five years in prison, while Gibb was given four years after both were stopped on the M8 at Harthill and found to be in possession of Class B and D drugs.
In total, officers seized around 200 kilos of cannabis and 10 kilos of amphetamine worth £750,000 during the stop, which took place on 4th May 2012.
The men were targeted as part of an intelligence-led operation to keep West Lothian communities safe and bring those responsible for drug supply within the area to justice.
Detective Superintendent Gordon said: “This operation was designed to target those who were blighting our communities with their actions.
“The arrests of these men and their subsequent sentencing, has shown that Police Scotland and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service will not tolerate a minority of people bringing misery to the lives of others and that through partnership working, that minority will be brought to justice.
“We are committed to keeping people safe and will look to remove those involved in criminal activity from our communities.
“Operations like this can only be successful through the continued support of the public and anyone with information relating to on-going criminal activity is asked to contact police immediately, or report the matter anonymously via the charity Crimestoppers.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
