Drug gang member made £810, court hears

The High Court in Edinburgh heard how Eric Morrison made £810 from his illegal activities

A man involved with a organised crime group made £810 from his illegal activities, a court has heard.

Eric Morrison, 37, was given a three-year jail term for being concerned in the supply of Etizolam, or "street valium".

The High Court in Edinburgh heard Morrison was involved with a crime gang in the west of Scotland.

The Crown Office brought a proceeds of crime action against Morrison which stated he had made £810.

Financial experts who scrutinised the 37-year-old's finances concluded that was what he made and Morrison, of Johnstone, Renfrewshire agreed to hand the sum over.

When Lord Weir asked him if he understood the terms of the agreement made between him and the Crown, Morrison - who represented himself in court - replied: "Yeah that's fine. Just go ahead and get it done."

Earlier this year, the court heard that between March and June 2020, Police Scotland seized large amounts of cocaine, heroin, Etizolam and mixing agents, worth in the region of £220,000.

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Firearms, including revolvers and shotguns, ammunition and grenades were also recovered.

An industrial pill press and hundreds of thousands of street valium tablets were found at a plant haulage and salvage yard in the Johnstone area.

Two of Morrison's accomplices, David Hough and James Dalziel, were sentenced to a total of more than eight years in prison.

Hough, one of the ringleaders, had fled Scotland and was later arrested by the Spanish authorities on a European Arrest Warrant and brought back to face prosecution.

One of his accomplices, James Dalziel, was sent to prison for two years and three months.

Another group member - Hugh McHugh, 43 - was jailed for five years and four months.