Glasgow drugs gang jailed after flaunting cocaine blocks and envelopes of cash over Encrochat

Three members of a Glasgow organised crime gang have been jailed after being found guilty of flooding Scotland with cocaine.

Paul Martin, 43, who was extradited from Spain to stand trial, Peter Dickson, 34, and Grant Jaap, 30, all pled guilty at a hearing in March to being involved in serious and organised crime between March and June 2020. Jaap also pled guilty to being involved in serious and organised crime on a date in May 2021.

The trio have now been jailed for a total of 13 years and three months.

Martin and Dickson were both given Serious Crime Prevention Orders (SCPOs) for a period of three years. The orders will come into effect once they are released from prison and are designed to prevent the men from returning to crime.

The gang were caught following an intelligence led operation by Police Scotland into an organised crime group based in Glasgow and the surrounding areas involved in the supply of diamorphine and cocaine.

The investigation is related to Operation Venetic, a European investigation into encrypted communication devices which used the Encrochat platform.

The police operation identified Paul Martin with the Encrochat user handle “Happy.com”, Peter Dickson with the handle “Tubbyraven” and Grant Jaap as the user “Lividbeta”.

Police established that Martin was in charge of the gang and the adulteration and distribution of Class A drugs across the Central Belt. Martin was able to source large quantities of drugs at a time through his connections with other organised crime group members.

Dickson, as Martin’s second in command was involved in the buying and selling of drugs. Jaap stored, adulterated, and distributed multi-kilo quantities of cocaine and diamorphine on behalf of Martin.

Martin left Scotland in March 2021 and was arrested in Tenerife, Spain in August 2022 and extradited to Scotland to stand trial. Confiscation proceedings have been initiated.

The court heard the prosecutor describe how all three used encrypted devices to conduct their illicit business over the Encrochat network.

These conversations included one from Jaap to Martin on 27 March 2020 with photographs of clingfilm-wrapped one-kilogram packages of cocaine embossed with an “Oakley” stamp.

On April, 15 2020 another Encro user sent Dickson a picture of a kilo block of cocaine. They discussed the stamp the block bore and the supply of heroin. Subsequent conversation between Dickson and Martin discussed offering the unknown user heroin at £18,000 per kilo.

On April, 16 2020 Martin joked with Dickson that he ought to be working harder saying “how am a meant to get away and chill in the sun if you aren’t working”. Messages were exchanged about the delivery of cocaine and the poor quality of blocks of white powder with an Audi logo embossed upon it.

Another message, from May, 14 2020, saw Martin tell Dickson to do some work over the weekend rather than “sitting mad with it”. Dickson responded with a photograph of a large bundle of money.

Police searched Jaap’s home on May 28 2021 and recovered a total of 1.996kg of cocaine and 4.986kg of diamorphine. The total street value was estimated as capable of realising a total value of £296,672.

On June 23, 2021, Martin’s home was searched. The house was unoccupied at that time but £46,882 of designer goods and clothing were recovered.

Sineidin Corrins, Deputy Procurator Fiscal for Specialist Casework said this sentencing should act as a strong warning to drugs traffickers.

She said: “This was a coordinated effort to release significant quantities of illegal and harmful drugs throughout the Central Belt of Scotland.

“With each case of this kind we can help reduce the harm these drugs inflict on our communities.

“Paul Martin, as the principal member of this gang, his second in command, Peter Dickson and Grant Jaap now face lengthy prison sentences as a result of the extensive efforts of officers within Police Scotland and prosecutors at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

“Prosecutors will continue working with the police and other agencies as a member of Scotland’s Serious and Organised Crime Taskforce to ensure that the activities of serious and organised crime groups are detected and those responsible prosecuted using all measures at our disposal.

“Proceeds of Crime proceedings have now been commenced to ensure the profits obtained through criminal conduct are confiscated.”

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