Glasgow gangsters jailed over plot to smuggle drugs into Scotland in fake solar panel generators

Three gangsters have been jailed over a plot to smuggle a large quantity of cocaine and heroin into Scotland hidden inside fake solar panel generators.

John Bonner, Christopher Laycock and David Kelly were found to be part of a money-laundering and drugs-trafficking scheme after their criminal activities were exposed in a police sting in January 2022.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said police surveillance officers observed men loading pallets into a van in Hillington, Glasgow, which were subsequently unloaded at a business park in Essex.

During a search, officers found the five pallets and large boxed items were destined for a company in Alicante, Spain, which was later discovered to be fictitious.

The items were found to be fake solar panel generators, which contained voids lined with lead and foil designed to prevent the contents being detected by Border Force x-ray scanners.

COPFS said the generators had the capacity of holding up to 400kg of controlled drugs, which prosecutors believed would then be ferried back from Alicante.

Police Scotland said the three were arrested as part of Operation Buggy, an investigation into drug trafficking into Scotland from Spain between March 2020 and January 2022, and Operation Escalade, a high-profile probe into one of the country's top-tier and most prolific serious organised crime groups.

COPFS said the men had known links to crime bosses James White and Paul Fleming, who are currently serving lengthy sentences for their involvement in Operation Buggy and Operation Escalade.

The involvement of all three accused was further exposed from messages recovered from the EncroChat communications platform favoured by criminals.

In one message with White, Laycock said he had checked a vehicle in which cash had been hidden and said it had "more than he thought". White then told him there was £1.3m.

Earlier, White had said he needed £800,000 in Scottish bank notes "moved" to another location.

Kelly's involvement was also further confirmed after his DNA was found to be on the handles of the fake solar panel generators, which he helped load on to the van at Hillington.

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At the High Court in Glasgow last month, the men pleaded guilty to being involved in serious organised crime.

The men, from Glasgow, were sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh on Tuesday.

Bonner, 38, who acted as a collector for the gang's drug sales, was jailed for five years and 10 months.

Laycock, 52, was jailed for six years and nine months after the court heard he had provided "advice" on how to set up a bogus shell firm as a front for the group's activities to make their deliveries look legitimate.

Kelly, 42, was jailed for five years and 10 months for transporting drug money for the group throughout the UK in his company van.

Detective Chief Inspector Laura Sands said: "As part of one of Scotland's most prolific crime groups, these men thought they were untouchable and above the law.

"However, working with partners, our officers have now brought them to justice."

Bonner, Laycock and Kelly's illegal activities were said to have occurred between March 2020 and January 2022.

As well as their prison sentences, the men were made subject of serious crime prevention orders (SCPO) lasting three years designed to prevent their return to crime on their release from custody.

All three will also be subject to confiscation action under proceeds of crime legislation.

Sineidin Corrins, deputy procurator fiscal for serious casework at COPFS, said: "This is a significant prosecution.

"These three individuals played pivotal roles in a coordinated operation to import huge quantities of illegal and harmful drugs into Scotland from abroad.

"They are now serving lengthy prison sentences thanks to an extensive police operation, working with COPFS, to investigate a network of drug supply.

"I hope these convictions and the sentence send a strong message to others involved in this kind of criminal behaviour and demonstrates the ability of police and prosecutors to investigate, prepare and prosecute serious and organised crime of this nature.

"With each case of this kind we can help reduce the harm that these drugs inflict on Scotland's communities."