Former Mr Scotland bodybuilder hit with 'super-asbo' for drug dealing

John Barry McDuff, 40, was involved in a lucrative drug trafficking operation

Author: Grant McCabePublished 5th Dec 2024

A former Mr Scotland bodybuilder involved in a lucrative drug trafficking operation has been hit with a so called "super-Asbo".

John Barry McDuff, 40, was snared after the law authorities smashed the EncroChat phone network favoured by criminals.

Scores of hacked messages uncovered what the 40 year-old and his associates were up to.

One fellow dealer boasted to McDuff how they had "the biggest network in Glasgow".

He was previously crowned Mr Scotland in 2012 after winning the 90kg category at the National Amateur Bodybuilding Championships.

McDuff - who latterly worked at a sports nutrition stores in the city's west end - was jailed for seven years in September after he admitted to a charge of being involved in serious organised crime in 2020.

A further hearing took place at the High Court in Glasgow today after prosecutors moved for a Serious Crime Prevention Order (SCPO) to be imposed on him.

These are designed to tackle and monitor criminals whenever they are freed from prison.

Lord Arthurson - the judge who sentenced McDuff - hit McDuff with a SCPO lasting four years.

McDuff was in the same criminal network as fellow dealer 37 year-old Paul Easdon - known on EncroChat as "glasgowceltic".

The pair had chats discussing consignments of cocaine and heroin.

Flash Easdon - who boasted the cartel was raking in a £4m-a-month - was jailed for six years in October after he admitted to the same charge as McDuff at a separate hearing

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.