A crime ring that distributed in excess of £3 million worth of Class A and B controlled substances throughout Fife, Tayside, Edinburgh and Ayrshire have today been collectively sentenced to nearly 50 years in prison.
Stephen Nisbet, who with the assistance of others, operated a drug empire throughout Scotland from his cell in HMP Edinburgh.
Nisbet has today been sentenced to a further 12 years in prison. His brother James has also been sentenced to 10 years. Five others have also been sentenced today (Friday, October 9) at Glasgow High Court.
This conviction is the result a Police Scotland covert operation, Operation Lapstone, which has been led by the forces Organised Crime and Counter Terrorism Unit (OOCTU). 66 people have been arrested during this long-term operation.
The operation ran for seven months and led to the dismantling of a major and established crime group.
Police Scotland worked in partnership with the Scottish Prison Service and Nisbet has since been removed from HMP Edinburgh and is now housed in a different part of the prison estate.
Operation Lapstone is an example of the modern era of policing in Scotland, where a number of police officers have come together from different areas, deploying specialist resources to vigorously pursue criminals and bring them to justice.
OCCTU Detective Chief Inspector Colin Boyle said: “Serious organised criminals undermine the efforts of those that are trying to make an honest living.
“Nisbet, along with others, ran a drug empire throughout Scotland. Operation Lapstone did not just disrupt this empire – it dismantled it.
“As an organisation we are committed tackling the sale and supply of drugs in our community and this continues to be a top priority for Police Scotland.
“We will not tolerate this type of anti-social behaviour and we will continue to hold those who peddle drugs in our community to account and bring them to justice.”
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.
