Five years behind bars for Clydebank gang member involved in organised crime
He was held after a drugs raid in Duntocher in 2020
Last updated 28th Apr 2023
A member of a gang part of a cocaine trafficking operation has been jailed for more than five years.
Stuart George played a vital role in the crime which started during the first lockdown.
The 40 year-old was held after a raid at a drugs factory in Duntocher, West Dunbartonshire.
George returned to the High Court in Glasgow today having last month pled guilty to a charge of being involved in serious and organised crime.
Lord Clark sentenced him to five years and three months.
READ MORE: Three arrested after £250k of cocaine seized from house in Blantyre.
The term was cut from seven years due to his guilty plea.
George had been previously been jailed in 2010 after a £1.5m amphetamine haul was discovered in his flat when his boiler went on fire.
The previous hearing was told how George and other mob members communicated via encrypted Encrochat messages to try and hide what was happening.
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Prosecutor Bill McVicar said George had the username "Whiteradio".
Mr McVicar added: "These messages were identified as part of a much larger inquiry involving police forces in France and the Netherlands."
The court heard George was being directed for the "collection and distribution" of cocaine and dirty money.
His role in the gang was described as "courier/driver".
Mr McVicar said the texts revealed George was involved in transporting 31kg of cocaine, which had a wholesale value of £1.2m.
It is believed, however, the potential sum would be far greater if split and adulterated into smaller amounts for sale.
Landscape gardener George, of Clydebank, also received £5,630 in "wages".
Mr McVicar: "In the messages, he was also given instructions on what to say if stopped by police driving during the lockdown."
Vehicles with "slots" - secret compartments to hide items - were also discussed.
On August 19 2020, police then searched the garage unit in Duntocher.
The court heard a "chemical process" was taking place there with adulterant to bulk out drugs being removed to make a "purer form" of cocaine to sell.