WIREDGOV

Two men have been jailed for seven and a half years for drugs and serious organised crime offences – following a joint Police Scotland, Organised Crime Partnership (Scotland) and National Crime Agency (NCA) intelligence-led operation last year.

On 6 November 2019, Gavin Kirkaldy, aged 30 years from Dunfermline, and 51-year-old Ian Smith from Liverpool, were seen to exchange a bag containing two kilograms of high purity cocaine in the car park of a public house in East Kilbride.

Officers arrested both men and seized the Class A controlled drugs, with an estimated street value of £600,000 as well as £38,000 in cash.

Both men were charged and appeared in court.

Yesterday (Monday, 14 December 2020), Smith was sentenced to 45 months in prison. Kirkaldy had already appeared for sentencing on 30 October 2020 and also jailed for 45 months.

NCA operations manager John McGowan, of the Organised Crime Partnership (Scotland), yesterday said:

“Operations like this show the benefit of the NCA and Police Scotland working together and sharing intelligence to tackle cross-border crime.

“Through the OCP we were able to act quickly to catch these criminals in the act, seizing their drugs and cash at the same time.

“The NCA and Police Scotland will continue to work together to stop organised criminals profiting on the supply of drugs, which in turn will help reduce violent crime across Scotland and the rest of the UK.”

Detective Inspector Tom Gillan, of the Organised Crime Partnership (Scotland), added:

“This is another example of how targeted investigations and pro-active activity is impacting those who think they can profit from the movement and supply of controlled drugs destined for the streets and communities of Scotland.”

“Every organisation is committed to working together towards Scotland’s Organised Crime Strategy and Taskforce and determined to make the country a hostile environment for criminals such as Kirkaldy and Smith to operate.”

The Organised Crime Partnership (Scotland) is an investigation team comprising of officers and staff from Police Scotland and the National Crime Agency.