Drugs gang boss nicknamed Titanium Otter jailed
- Published
The High Court in Glasgow heard Ryan Ferguson began reoffending shortly after being released from prison
A gang boss who hid thousands of pounds worth of drugs in Highland woodlands has been jailed for almost six years.
Ryan Ferguson, of Inverness, called himself by the alias Titanium Otter in encrypted calls intercepted by police.
The High Court in Glasgow was told the 30-year-old arranged deliveries of drugs and large sums of cash.
It also heard he directed other gang members to hide drugs at "stash sites" in woods in rural locations.
The drugs were later valued by police at more than £492,000.
Ferguson was sentenced after earlier admitting supplying cocaine, cannabis and benzocaine and being involved in serious organised crime between June 2019 and September 2021.
Judge Lord Clark jailed him for five years and eight months.
Ferguson was also given a serious crime prevention order - a so-called Super Asbo - designed to curb criminal behaviour once released from prison.
Encryption device
The court heard earlier that Ferguson had previously been jailed twice for drug trafficking and money laundering offences.
He was freed from his last sentence in June 2019 and was reoffending just weeks later.
Crown Office prosecutors said police intercepted mobile phone conversations Ferguson held using an encryption device.
The discussions involved other criminals in north east England and Glasgow and revealed the scope and the planning of Ferguson's operation.
Prosecutors said he orchestrated the delivery of significant quantities of drugs into the Highlands.
In one exchange, Ferguson was heard arranging a £75,000 payment to a courier as part of a handover of drugs in a factory car park.
On another occasion he was heard discussing the price of cocaine.
Thailand holiday
The court heard police made a number of seizures during their investigations.
In June 2020, a total of £142,098 of high purity cocaine was found hidden under moss in woods.
A further drugs haul worth £350,000 was discovered after two men linked to Ferguson were stopped in separate raids.
Ferguson was arrested at Glasgow Airport in June last year after arriving back from a holiday in Thailand with his partner.
Following the sentencing Laura Buchan, procurator fiscal for specialist casework, said: "This was a coordinated effort to bring significant quantities of illegal and harmful drugs to the north of Scotland.
"Ryan Ferguson is now serving a prison sentence as a result of an extensive police operation, with oversight from Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, to investigate a network of drug supply."
Police Scotland has also welcomed the sentence.