Yahoo News UK
An Uddingston drug dealer has been jailed after throwing £90,000 worth of cocaine out of his car window during a police chase on the M8.
Martin Murphy, 45, was involved in drug deals worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, and was active on the Encrochat, a communications platform favoured by underworld kingpins, using the handles ‘Analogpelican’, ‘Rocketforce’ and ‘Reputableplug’.
Encrochat was breached by international law enforcement in 2020. Between March and October 2021, investigators recovered 40 images related to drug trafficking and 1194 lines of conversation between the accused and other individuals using EncroChat handles, many of them discussing the transportation, delivery, mixing and distribution of drugs with his criminal associates.
In October 2021, police made their move, raiding Murphy’s Uddingston home and recovering £153,650 and €7,680 in cash wrapped in plastic bands as well as a small amount of cocaine. One of Murphy’s phones was found to have a ‘Notes’ section which included entries saying ‘200k paid” and “150k paid”.
Police officers assessed these as being references to monies owed and paid by the accused. Other entries contained names with numbers beside them and were considered extensive “tick lists” of drug monies owed to Murphy.
There were also photos on the phone of huge bundles of cash and blocks of cocaine. The court also heard how in April 2020, police surveillance officers filmed Murphy receiving a package from another man in a supermarket car park at the Fort shopping centre in Glasgow’s East End.
When police moved to arrest Murphy, he led them on a high speed chase, including on the M8. Murphy drove on the wrong side of the road, narrowly avoiding other vehicles as he fled.
He also threw a package out of his window on the M8 during the chase. The package is believed to contain cocaine with a street value of £90,000.
Murphy will now be subject to confiscation action under Proceeds of Crime legislation to recover monies illegally obtained. Sineidin Corrins, Deputy Procurator Fiscal for specialist casework at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said: “This was a highly successful prosecution which has removed a large quantity of drugs from our streets and caused significant disruption to the local supply chain.
“Martin Murphy will now spend time in prison paying for his crimes thanks to an extensive police operation, working with COPFS, to investigate and disrupt a network of drug supply. Drug trafficking wrecks lives and blights communities where drugs take hold.
“The Crown will continue working with the police and other agencies as a member of Scotland’s Serious and Organised Crime Taskforce to ensure that these crimes are detected and those responsible prosecuted using all measures at our disposal.”
Source: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/uddingston-gangster-jailed-chucking-90k-102355947.html
