Two Bathgate men charged after psychoactive substance seized

A father and son have been charged after £60,000 of a new psychoactive substance was seized by Border Force at two airports.

The seizures of Kratom - one of 52 kilos at Edinburgh Airport on April 15 and another of 102 kilos at East Midlands Airport on May 6 - were made as part of a joint National Crime Agency and Police Scotland investigation.

Officers from the Organised Crime Partnership arrested the two men, aged 60 and 38, in Bathgate, West Lothian, on Tuesday.

NCA Scotland operations manager John McGowan said: "We estimate these seizures would have had a combined value of around £60,000 once sold on the black market.

"Kratom is a dangerous drug and working with partners like Police Scotland and Border Force, we are determined to do all we can to prevent such substances making it on to our streets and damaging the communities of Scotland.''

Kratom is a controlled substance under the New Psychoactive Substances Act 2016.

It is traditionally grown in south-east Asia and used as a stimulant with opioid-like properties.

The men are charged with importation, possession with intent to supply and offering for supply.

They have both been released and will appear in court on a later date.

Deputy director Murdo MacMillan, head of Border Force Scotland, said: "These seizures have taken a large amount of dangerous psychoactive substances out of the hands of organised criminals and off our streets.

"Border Force will continue to work with the NCA and Police Scotland to bring those involved in smuggling to justice.''

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