Crime gang members jailed for £1m Peterhead cannabis operation

The four men were caught last year

Four members of a foreign crime gang have been jailed for their involvement in a major cannabis operation.

Justas Brazinskas, 26, Arturas Litkinas, 32, Romualdas Galdikas, 43, and Tadas Jurjonas, 45, were caught after raids in Peterhead last year.

Police Scotland said the potential value was up to £1m.

Brazinskas was jailed for three years and four months, Litkinas and Jurjonas for two years and eight months each, and Galdikas for two years.

A court previously heard the wholesale cost of the cannabis was about £300,000, but that the street value was much higher.

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Prosecutor Bill McVicar said: "This case involves a large scale, sophisticated and high valued organised crime venture.

"It was operated by a group from Lithuania who came to Peterhead to participate in cannabis cultivation and supply with a substantial street value."

Surveillance was carried out between January and March last year.

Police kept watch on a number of properties in the town which had been converted into drug factories and used to produce hauls of cannabis, and drugs were later recovered.

The court also heard Litkinas had 300 cannabis plants in his car when he was stopped on the A90 at Stracathro, Angus.

Engaged in criminal activity

Mr McVicar said the ultimate value at street level would be far higher, although no figure was given.

The four each admitted separate charges of being concerned in the supply of cannabis.

At the High Court in Stirling on Tuesday, Lord Mulholland said they all had limited or non-existent criminal records prior to the offence.

He said: "You all came to this country and instead of working hard and taking advantage of the opportunities afforded to you, you engaged in criminal activity, growing and trafficking a controlled drug.

"This is a criminal offence in this country, as it is in your own, and you did this for profit."

Det Insp Robin Sim, of Police Scotland, said: "These arrests were part of an intelligence-led operation that had been lengthy and complex.

"We hope this sends a clear message to anyone who is involved in the supply of drugs on to the streets of Scotland that if you expect to profit from other people's misery, expect to be targeted by law enforcement. No-one is untouchable."