A man linked to serious organised crime threw £90,000 worth of cocaine out of his car window during a police chase on Scotland’s busiest motorway.
Martin Murphy, 45, has been jailed for four years and four months after his involvement in drug deals worth hundreds of thousands of pounds was exposed during a police surveillance operation.
A court heard how Murphy was rumbled after officers filmed him receiving a package from another man in a supermarket car park at Glasgow Fort shopping centre in April 2020.
Image: Murphy under surveillance by officers. Pic: Crown Office
Image: Murphy was seen getting into his Range Rover after being handed a package by a man. Pic: Crown Office
When police moved in, he sped off in his Range Rover and drove on the wrong side of the road in a bid to avoid arrest.
During a high-speed chase on the M8, Murphy threw the package out of his car window.
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) believe it contained cocaine with a street value of around £90,000.
Murphy was eventually arrested, as was Jordan McKinlay, who had handed over the package to him.
Image: The secret compartment inside Jordan McKinlay’s van. Pic: Crown Office
Cocaine said to be worth £452,000 was found in a secret compartment within football scout McKinlay’s van.
McKinlay was jailed for three years and nine months in November 2022 for his role in the drugs operation.
Image: Jordan McKinlay. Pic: Police Scotland
Meanwhile, the investigation into Murphy continued.
His home in Uddingston, South Lanarkshire, was raided in October 2021.
A total of £153,650 and €7,680 wrapped in plastic bands was seized, alongside a small amount of cocaine.
It was then officers discovered Murphy had been using three EncroChat handles – Analogpelican, Rocketforce and Reputableplug – to actively discuss the transportation, delivery, mixing and distribution of controlled drugs with fellow gangsters.
EncroChat ceased operations in June 2020 after French and Dutch agencies infiltrated the encrypted communications network favoured by criminals.
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COPFS said 40 images related to drug trafficking were recovered from a phone, as well as 1,194 lines of conversation between Murphy and others on EncroChat.
One phone was found to have “tick lists” in the notes section, including entries saying “200k paid” and “150k paid”.
Photos on the device also showed large bundles of cash and blocks of cocaine.
Murphy admitted his involvement in serious organised crime during a hearing at the High Court in Glasgow last month.
He was sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh on Friday and will now be subject to confiscation action under proceeds of crime legislation.
Sineidin Corrins, deputy procurator fiscal for specialist casework at COPFS, said drug trafficking “wrecks lives and blights communities where drugs take hold”.
She added: “This was a highly successful prosecution which has removed a large quantity of drugs from our streets and caused significant disruption to the local supply chain.
“Martin Murphy will now spend time in prison paying for his crimes thanks to an extensive police operation, working with COPFS, to investigate and disrupt a network of drug supply.”
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