Ex-police inspector jailed for role in drugs gang

Brown claimed he had been tricked into carrying drugs but was found guilty

A former police inspector and his accomplice have been jailed for their role in a £2m drug smuggling operation.

David Brown, 51, and Patrick Hattie, 52 were caught after a truck travelling from Cairnryan to Northern Ireland was stopped in December 2018.

Police went on to seize cocaine and cannabis resin from the vehicle.

Brown, an ex-inspector for the British Transport Police from Carfin, North Lanarkshire, claimed he had been duped into trafficking the drugs.

At the High Court in Glasgow he was jailed for six-and-a-half years for the supply of drugs.

• Ex-police inspector caught in £2m drugs swoop

Hattie, from Airdrie, Lanarkshire, was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in jail for the same charges.

The court previously heard the pair had been recruited by haulage firm boss Lawrence Phee who ran the illegal enterprise.

Phee, from Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, was jailed for eight-and-a-half years in 2020 on drugs charges.

'Significant operation'

Prosecutors previously revealed that the drugs were imported from Spain into Scotland hidden inside machinery and then split into smaller packages.

Sentencing the pair, Lord Summers said: "I am satisfied that Mr Phee was responsible for the movement of the drugs in this trial.

"You, Mr Brown, had a hands on role and moved the van from Mr Hattie's yard to Cairnryan and were more than a simple courier...Mr Hattie was the facilitator.

"You knew you were involved in a significant operation due to the size of the container Mr Hattie transported."

Brown was caught as he tried to board a ferry at Cairnryan

A total of 4kg of cocaine, 23kg of herbal cannabis and 5,072 bars of cannabis resin worth a total of £600,000 were recovered in the Cairnryan raid.

The drugs were found hidden in a fuel tank when a Police Scotland dog trained to detect drugs reacted positively towards it.

Brown told jurors how he had been offered work at short notice of a trip to Ireland and thought he was transporting the fuel tank as that was mentioned in the paperwork.

Tony Graham QC, defending Brown, said: "Mr Brown should not be here as he was a police officer and became involved in criminality of a different kind.

"There was a naivety to his involvement."

Brown and Hattie will both face a Proceeds of Crime hearing at a later date.