Haulage firm worker used company vehicles to transport cocaine

A haulage firm worker who used the company's vehicles to help run a lucrative drug trafficking operation has been jailed for more than four years.

Russell Smith was described as a "wholesaler" of large hauls of cocaine during the Covid pandemic in 2020.

The 41-year-old communicated with associates on EncroChat under the nickname "On Top Non Stop" but was arrested when the encrypted phone network used by criminals was broken by the authorities that year.

Smith pled guilty at the High Court in Glasgow to a charge of being involved in serious organised crime.

Lord Cubie sentenced him to four years and three months for what he branded "corrosive, exploitative and damaging" drug dealing.

The charge spanned between March and June 2020, when Smith had access to vehicles belonging to a haulage company he worked for.

The court was told of various chats Smith had with associates on EncroChat, including messages about him selling 15kg of cocaine and "wishing" that he had another 50kg to offload.

In one conversation, Smith agreed to buy £385,000 of the drug, although it was unclear if the deal went through.

Prosecutor Bill McVicar added that Smith's profit margins were about £3,500 per kg at one stage.

There were further discussion about cash and substances used to bulk out drugs for profit. Figures mentioned included £30,000 to be paid to Smith.

Smith's properties in Lesmahagow in South Lanarkshire and the north-east of Glasgow were later raided.

Officers only found an inoperable encrypted phone and documents related to his finances but evidence implicating Smith came from messages between him and others involved in cocaine dealing.

McVicar said: "The messages indicated that between March 2020 and June 2020, Smith was a wholesaler of cocaine who acquired substantial quantities in bulk and sold on in kilogram quantities with a profit of around £3,500 per kilogram."

The court was told Smith blamed the "financial challenges" of Covid to getting involved in crime and that he described himself as a middleman.

Sentencing, Lord Cubie said Smith had a "more sustained role" in the trafficking, stating it was not "fleeting or peripheral".

The judge: "I proceed on the basis that the motivation was finance for yourself and not, as you hint, some attempt to keep the business existing.

"The supply and use of cocaine is corrosive, exploitative and damaging to society.

"It helps to fund serious and organised crime as well as cause death and disruption. You do not appear to appreciate this."

Smith was told the jail term would have been five years and three months, but for the guilty plea.