Three Ayrshire men jailed for involvement in major drug operation

Three Ayrshire men have been jailed for a total of 14 years for their involvement in a serious organised drug trafficking operation.

Police uncovered the crimes of Alan Stewart, 44, Leslie Montgomery, 64, and Matthew Cullimore, 37, after accessing an encrypted phone network, where the trio were discussing drug deals and payments involving hundreds of thousands of pounds.

They were apprehended after French and Dutch authorities retrieved data from the EncroChat phone network.

Plans for large scale supply of cocaine and cannabis

The texts, sent between March and June 2020, revealed plans to obtain and supply large quantities of cocaine and cannabis across Ayrshire.

At the High Court in Edinburgh, Stewart – identified as the gang’s ringleader - was jailed for five years and four months after he admitted being involved in serious organised crime between March 2020 and October 2022.

Montgomery and Cullimore were each sentenced to four years and four months after they also pled guilty to the same charge.

Sineidin Corrins, Deputy Procurator Fiscal for Serious Casework at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said:

“This was a coordinated effort to distribute significant quantities of illegal and harmful drugs in Scotland.

“These men are now serving prison sentences thanks to an extensive police operation, working with COPFS, to investigate a network of drug supply.

“With each case of this kind we are reducing the harm that these drugs inflict on Scotland’s communities.

"We are targeting all people who threaten communities"

“We are targeting all people who threaten communities across Scotland, not only drug couriers but also those who are involved in the distribution of multi-kilogram quantities.

“The Crown will continue working with the police and other agencies as a member of Scotland’s Serious and Organised Crime Taskforce to ensure that these crimes are detected and those responsible prosecuted using all measures at our disposal.”

The convictions of all three men stemmed from Operation Wildcard, a police operation investigating serious organised crime in Ayrshire and the surrounding areas.

The court heard how Stewart, described as the principal of the gang, was involved in the purchase, storage and onward distribution of cocaine and cannabis in Ayrshire.

Trio used codenames "ExcitedEmu", "NeatFerret" and "ButchPenguin"

He used the handle "ExcitedEmu", Montgomery’s online name was "NeatFerret" and Cullimore used the handle "ButchPenguin" to communicate with associates through thousands of encrypted messages.

Cullimore provided Stewart with details of monies collected from customers and was instructed to deliver sums of up to £100,000 in cash to drug suppliers.

On one occasion, while under police surveillance, he was spotted taking possession of a bag from a man at a Burger King outlet in Kilmarnock which was later found to contain £94,980 in cash.

All three men will now face confiscation action under proceeds of crime legislation to recover monies obtained through criminal activities.

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