Ex-Hearts footballer Paul MacDonald jailed over drugs and money laundering

Paul MacDonald while he was playing for Hearts in 2006

A former Hearts footballer involved in a drugs and money laundering operation has been jailed for seven years.

Paul MacDonald, 35, had boasted of selling almost £2m of high-purity cocaine a month before being caught.

He and accomplice Craig Balloch, 30, were spotted taking part in a drugs handover in Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire, in March 2019.

Detectives later discovered encrypted texts which linked the pair to other deals.

They contained references to the trafficking of "tops" - a term for cocaine - as well as "bots" - used to describe heroin.

Prosecutor John McElroy KC told the High Court in Glasgow: "An iPhone attributed to MacDonald had messages discussing the purchase and sale of high-value watches.

Spanish property

"There were others where he indicates he is buying a property in Spain valued at '325k, getting it for 250k' and asks a family member to put it in their name."

In one encrypted text, MacDonald stated he "sells approximately 50kg of top quality cocaine a month". The value of this would have been an estimated £1.9m a time.

Mr McElroy: "The scale of the operation is illustrated when MacDonald discusses the reliability of a courier and he said: 'Not when there's 4 and 5 mil on the line, mate'."

In a further message, he said: "We still got million odd quid after bills are paid."

MacDonald and Balloch pleaded guilty to a charge of being involved in serious organised crime between February 2019 and June 2020.

Balloch, from Rutherglen, was jailed for seven years and six months.

MacDonald played for Hearts as a teenager in the mid-2000s and was capped at Scotland youth level. He also played for Clyde.