Crime gang member traced to Spain jailed for four-and-a-half years

A crime gang member who was caught after he left DNA traces on elastic bands used to bundle up money has been jailed for four-and-a-half years.

Joseph Lindsay, 34, was brought back to Scotland to face justice after he was traced in Tenerife by Spanish police.

Lindsay, from Blantyre, Lanarkshire, admitted breaching proceeds of crime legislation by agreeing with others to conceal and disguise criminal property.

Lord Beckett said Lindsay was an "integral" part of the gang.

The High Court in Glasgow heard that he became a suspect after a raid on an industrial unit in 2017.

Detectives later managed to link him to a gang who were jailed for a total of 87 years after a massive investigation into violence, drugs and firearms offences.

Operation Escalade uncovered a criminal enterprise that generated more than £100m a year and stretched from Baillieston to Brazil.

Lindsay appeared on the police radar after a lorry was examined at a premises in East Kilbride and found to contain a hiding place with plastic tubs stuffed with cash.

A European Arrest Warrant was issued for Lindsay and he was detained by the Guardia Civil in December last year.

His gang's mode of operation included packaging and concealing substantial cash proceeds for transportation.

They were caught after the industrial unit at Dixon Place, East Kilbride was searched in January 2017.

Inside, police found a flatbed Iveco lorry with a hiding place for large sums of cash, along with fraudulently-obtained registration documents and keys.

Det Supt Laura Thomson, of the Organised Crime and Counter Terrorism Unit, said Police Scotland would "continue to disrupt anyone involved in this type of activity on a daily basis".

She said: "People involved in serious organised crime can give the illusion of living a glamorous lifestyle but the reality is they are living dangerously, constantly having to look over their shoulder and causing misery to our communities.

"Regardless of the role individuals have in organised crime groups, they are associated with people who do not care about the consequences of their actions, their crimes aren't victimless and they will carry out extreme violence.

"I would ask anyone who has information about organised crime in their area, perhaps having seen people with sudden unexplained wealth, to contact us."