The fugitive caught as he met his wife at the airport

Joseph Lindsay has been described as 'a poster boy for young individuals on the cusp of organised crime'

When the wife of one of Scotland's most-wanted men stepped off a flight in Tenerife local police were monitoring her every move.

Detectives knew the woman and her young daughter had no accommodation booked for their New Year break.

The hope was that their final destination would lead officers to a man who controlled dirty cash for a £100m crime group.

But in the end the covert pursuit was a brief one.

• Crime gang member traced to Spain jailed

The target, Joseph Lindsay, was not lying low in a luxury sea view apartment.

He was waiting patiently to greet his family in the airport terminal building.

'Surprised'

Det Insp Martin McGhee, of Police Scotland's Organised Crime and Counter Terrorism Unit (OCCTU), said: "To be quite honest he was surprised.

"We hadn't publicised there was a European Arrest Warrant in play for him.

"He was not expecting to be arrested on 29 December meeting his wife and daughter at the airport."

Firearms traded by the organised gang were also used to enforce the gang's lucrative drugs operations

Lindsay's extradition in January proved to be another landmark in Operation Escalade, which has now led to 13 convictions.

The investigation is ongoing and warrants remain outstanding for five alleged gang members who are known to travel extensively worldwide.

The massive inquiry first hit the headlines in December 2017 when nine men admitted a catalogue of charges involving drugs, firearms and violence.

Detectives described the group as the most dangerous and sophisticated the force had encountered.

They included Edinburgh-based cocaine dealer Mark Richardson and soldier-turned-gunrunner Martyn Fitzsimmons.

The High Court in Glasgow heard a remarkable narrative which featured the brutal torture of a man over an unpaid drug debt and the discovery of a huge arsenal of weapons.

The gang's reach was global and one member, David Sell, travelled to Brazil to source high-purity cocaine direct from cartels.

The others were Barry O'Neill, Anthony Woods, Francis Mulligan, Michael Bowman, Gerard Docherty and Steven McArdle.

Together all nine received sentences totalling 87 years.

The Operation Escalade gang included (clockwise from top left): Gerard Docherty, Steven McCardle, Francis Mulligan, David Sell, Barry O'Neill and Martyn Fitzsimmons.

In a bid to dismantle the group Police Scotland enlisted the support of the National Crime Agency, Europol and the US Drug Enforcement Agency.

Lindsay, 34, was dealt with separately as the evidence against him was still being reviewed when the gang were prosecuted.

But his connection with them can be traced back to 2016 when surveillance officers monitored him holding meetings with Woods in Glasgow.

The breakthrough eventually came in January 2017 when police raided an industrial unit in Dixon Place, East Kilbride.

Inside officers discovered a concealment within the flat bed of an Iveco recovery lorry containing plastic boxes, measuring 3ft by 1ft, filled with £600,000 in cash.

A flatbed truck was searched after police raided an industrial unit in East Kilbride

Elastic bands used to bind one thick bundle of notes were later forensically examined at the Scottish Crime Campus in Gartcosh.

They were found to contain Lindsay's DNA, which was already on the database for intelligence purposes.

The money formed a large chunk of the £1.7m which was eventually recovered from the gang.

Det Insp McGhee said: "I think it is fair to say he had a controlling influence in the cash that was seized from the group."

Lindsay went on the run after the arrest of his uncle, Daniel Lindsay, 49, on 6 June last year.

Plastic boxes containing wrapped bundles of cash were found within a concealed compartment in the truck

Officers had no record of him leaving the country and believe he was either smuggled out or made the trip on a false passport.

Once in Tenerife he was supported by the gang's network and ran a legitimate business called Joe's Properties.

Despite no formal record of employment in the UK, officers established Lindsay owned three properties in Castlemilk as well a property and land in Tenerife.

He also drove a BMW X5 and planned to enrol his daughter in a private school.

Det Inp McGhee said: "He was a poster boy for young individuals on the cusp of organised crime.

"We assessed his role to be managing or handling the criminal cash for the group.

"He facilitated the movement of funds and worked in tandem with his uncle Daniel, who was a courier."

Convicted cocaine dealer Mark Richardson was prosecuted with the gang but was later sentenced to a further 18 months in prison over a high-speed chase along the streets of Glasgow

BBC Scotland understands Lindsay's criminal links date back more than a decade and he was an associate of gangland enforcer Kevin "Gerbil" Carroll, who was shot dead in a supermarket car park in 2010.

Although he has long-standing underworld connections Lindsay has never, until now, served a prison sentence.

At the peak of his criminal career he was a prolific spender and enjoyed a dream wedding in Cyprus, which cost more than £25,000.

Guests at the ceremony in September 2017 included his uncle Daniel.

A further £10,000 was spent on a Cartier ring for the new Mrs Lindsay.

The gang used state-of-the art counter surveillance equipment in a bid to stay one step ahead of the police

The couple's honeymoon took in the Grosvenor House Hotel in Dubai and a five-night stay in a water bungalow at the Sheraton Maldives Full Moon resort.

In a bid to conceal his wealth his rented family home in Blantyre was leased under a different name.

The £274,000 property was lavishly furnished and officers discovered the wardrobes were full of designer clothes from brands such as Gucci and Givenchy.

Although police had no idea where Lindsay was their strategy was to focus on his wife.

And when she booked an early morning flight from Prestwick to Tenerife officers from the OCCTU contacted their Spanish counterparts.

Det Insp McGhee said: "We knew the wife was travelling abroad and we assessed with it being the festive period she would likely travel to meet her husband.

"The time of year was key. As soon as she landed he met her and was arrested."

Lindsay was arrested by Spanish police at Tenerife South Airport on 27 December last year

Lindsay had no links to any acts of violence associated with the gang but he fulfilled a critical role.

Det Insp McGhee said: "We assessed the Lindsay family to be significant to the distribution of drugs and the collection of cash.

"Joseph Lindsay managed the criminal funds in Scotland and the UK and his arrest has had a big impact on them."

The family's connections in their native Castlemilk and Rutherglen extended into the east end of Glasgow.

Asked if Lindsay was dangerous, the detective replied: "The crime group remain the highest threat, risk and harm to Police Scotland.

"By virtue of the fact he is a member of that group, then yes."

(Left to right) Joseph Lindsay's uncle Daniel Lindsay, Darren Mulheron and Paul Scott have also been convicted following two separate trials linked to Operation Escalade

As well as the main case and the latest conviction two further indictments linked to the gang have resulted in prosecutions.

Lindsay's uncle Daniel and an associate, Darren Mulheron, were jailed in April after admitting drugs and gun offences.

A court heard the haul of cocaine and heroin seized from the pair had a street value of £3.4m.

Later that month Paul Scott, the gang's technical expert, was also convicted.

Like Lindsay, the electrician had fled to Spain but he managed to elude police for two years before being caught in Madrid in November 2018.

Separate legal proceedings are now under way to recover Joseph Lindsay's assets, totalling £250,000.

Det Supt Laura Thomson, of the OCCTU, 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."