Man jailed after police seize crime gang's 250kg drug haul

A car wash owner has been jailed for seven-and-a half years after importing a large quantity of an anaesthetic used to bulk out cocaine.

John Jackson, 33, helped smuggle 250kg of benzocaine - a quantity which could have been used to produce at least 500kg of street cocaine.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard the drug was flown from China to Glasgow Airport in an organised crime deal.

But police were alerted and undercover officers delivered the consignment.

After Jackson and two other men stored the load in a neighbour's shed, a joint team from the National Crime Agency and Police Scotland carried out a raid.

Judge Alison Stirling said benzocaine was used extensively in the UK by organised crime groups "to adulterate and bulk cocaine whereby vastly increasing stock and profit margins".

She told Jackson: "Custody is the only appropriate disposal having regard to the serious nature of your offending."

The judge said Jackson would have faced a 10-year prison term, but for his guilty plea.

Jackson, of Barrmill in North Ayrshire, earlier admitted being concerned in the supply of cocaine between 19 and 21 August 2019. The offence was aggravated by a connection with serious organised crime.

Advocate depute Shanti Maguire said the shipment of benzocaine could be used as a mixing agent to produce at least 500kg of cocaine.

The prosecutor said that could bring in £25m, or double that if it was perceived to be of a high purity level.

The court heard that Jackson was in rent arrears at the time of the drug deal but had cleared the £400 debt as a result of his involvement.

Defence counsel Callum Hiller said: "He did know he was ordering and collecting the benzocaine. What he did not know was the scale and intricacies of the operation above his level."

The defence counsel submitted that Jackson was "at the very bottom of the ladder" in the drugs operation.

Mr Hiller said that Jackson, who has a previous conviction for growing cannabis, maintained that he was gullible and misled.

Following sentencing, National Crime Agency operations manager Rob Miles said: "Benzocaine has legal pharmaceutical uses, and Jackson cynically attempted to exploit a legitimate company to get the product into Scotland and conceal his involvement in the cocaine trade.

"This seizure represents a substantial disruption of the crime group involved, denying them profit and reducing the availability of their product in Scottish communities."