Four men have been jailed for a total of over 18 years after pleading guilty to being involved in serious organised crime in Edinburgh.
Dale Cleeton, 31, was jailed for seven years, Calvin Begbie, 30, for six years, Fraser Boyd, 51, for three years and Mitchell Whyte, 24, for 32 months.
Cleeton and Begbie were also given Serious Crime Prevention Orders for three years.
They were convicted on Friday, 3 May, 2024 at the High Court in Glasgow and were sentenced there on Friday, 7 June, 2024.
Detective Inspector Mark McCullagh, senior investigating officer for the case, said: “These men and their organised crime group were a significant factor in the trade of illegal drugs in Edinburgh and The Lothians.
“They caused nothing but harm in pursuit of their own gain.
“Their activities were uncovered by an intelligence-led operation by specialist officers working in Edinburgh. Disrupting the activities of organised crime groups and making the country an extremely hostile environment for them to operate is one of Police Scotland’s top priorities.
“There is no place for serious organised criminality in our society and, working in partnership with the local communities we serve, law enforcement agencies and the members of the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce, we will continue our fight against those involved in serious and organised crime to keep our communities safe.”
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.