Lithuanian crime gang caught with £1m cannabis haul jailed for a total of ten years

A Lithuanian crime gang caught in a £1m cannabis bust have been jailed for a total of ten years.

Romualdas Galdikas, Arturas Litkinas, Justas Brazinskas, and Tadas Jurjonas, were caught after a series of raids on addresses in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, last year.

Galdikas, 43 was jailed for two years; Litkinas, 32, for two years and eight months; Brazinskas, 26, for three years and four months; and Jurjonas, 45, for two years and eight months.

The gang were told by judge Lord Mulholland that they all had limited or non-existent criminal records prior to the offence.

The gang appeared for sentencing at the High Court in Stirling.

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.”

The four, whose addresses were all given as Peterhead, appeared for sentencing at the High Court in Stirling after pleading guilty at the High Court in Glasgow in February to being concerned in the supply of cannabis.

The court heard they had all come to the UK since 2020 with plans to work in the construction, fish processing, and transport fields before becoming involved in cultivating and trafficking cannabis.

Prosecutor Bill McVicar said the gang had been involved in “a large scale, sophisticated and high valued organised crime venture”.

He said: “It was operated by a group from Lithuania who came to Peterhead to participate in cannabis cultivation and supply with a substantial street value.”

The four were soon identified as gang members by detectives and surveillance was carried out between January and March 2021.

Police kept watch on a number of properties in the Aberdeenshire town which had been converted into drug factories and used to produce “multi-kilogramme” hauls of cannabis.

Detective inspector Robin Sim, said: “These arrests were part of an intelligence led operation that had been lengthy and complex.

“We are committed to disrupting the illegal and harmful supply of drugs in our communities. We will use every tool and tactic at our disposal to remove these illegal substances from our streets.

“We hope this sends a clear message to anyone who is involved in the supply of drugs onto the streets of Scotland that if you expect to profit from other people’s misery, expect to be targeted by law enforcement.”