Gang jailed for drugs empire operated from housing estate

Organised criminals who ran a drugs empire from a housing estate have been jailed after being intercepted by French authorities.

Ringleader Lee Docherty, 37, his brother-in-law Ian Millar, 39, Brendan Gillan, 32, his father Daniel Gillan, 60, and Christopher McKellar, 44, traded in drugs worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Between March and December 2020, the gang used a “heavily fortified” building on the Larkfield housing estate in Greenock, Inverclyde, to control the sale and supply of cocaine, heroin, cannabis and etizolam.

Prosecutors said the gang wreaked “disorder and disruption” in the local community.

The gang was caught when French authorities intercepted encrypted messages on the EncroChat platform, and all of them pleaded guilty at the High Court in Glasgow in January.

The court heard one message referred to Valium pills with a street of value of more than £700,000.

A police raid in December 2020 yielded a drugs haul worth £150,000, as well as £12,775 in cash, at the Oxford Road property referred to as “the trap”, or “the shop”, the court was told.

Docherty, described in court as the gang’s principal member, was jailed for eight years when the gang was sentenced on Thursday.

Millar and Daniel Gillan were both handed six-year sentences, while Brendan Gillan was jailed for six years and four months.

McKellar, who was responsible for moving the drugs, was sentenced to five years and four months.

Serious Crime Prevention Orders were also served on Docherty, Millar and Brendan Gillan, and all the gang members will face proceeds of crime confiscation hearings in future.

Sineidin Corrins, deputy procurator fiscal for specialist casework at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said: “For years, the criminal activities of these individuals have impacted the everyday lives of many ordinary people in the Larkfield area of Greenock through their significant involvement in serious organised crime.

“They caused widespread disorder and disruption through the supply of drugs and their influence on young people.

“This extended to every facet of the community, from local people living in the area to those who ran shops or businesses.

“But now, thanks to the efforts of officers and prosecutors, their grip on the local community has been dismantled.

“The members of this community can now move forward safe in the knowledge that these five individuals will spend a lengthy time in prison having now been brought to justice for these crimes.

“There are consequences for this type of criminality. We hope these convictions and the sentence send a strong message to others involved in this kind of criminal behaviour and demonstrates the ability of police and prosecutors to investigate, prepare and prosecute serious and organised crime of this nature.

“We continue to target all those who threaten communities across Scotland, working as a key part of the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce to protect the people of Scotland.”

Detective Chief Inspector Robert Bowie, senior investigating officer for the case, said: “These five men were a blight on the community of Greenock and the wider Inverclyde area.

“Their organised crime group was a significant factor in the trade of illegal drugs in the area, causing nothing but harm in pursuit of their own gain.

“Their activities were brought to light thanks to a protracted and complex investigation led by the Serious and Organised Crime Team working in Renfrewshire and Inverclyde.

The full extent of their criminality was uncovered thanks to the infiltration of the encrypted messaging service Encrochat.

“Our officers, working with partners, worked tirelessly to expose the criminal activity of this group, ultimately leading to them facing justice.”