Drug dealer threw £90,000 of cocaine out car window during M8 police chase

A man who threw a package containing £90,000 worth of cocaine from his car window while being chased by police on the M8 has been jailed.

Martin Murphy was sentenced to four years and four months in prison for his involvement in drug deals worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The 45-year-old was found to have used three handles – Analogpelican, Rocketforce and Reputableplug – on the EncroChat communications platform favoured by serious and organised criminals, where he actively discussed the transportation, delivery, mixing and distribution of controlled drugs with criminal associates.

Between March 26 and October 2021, 40 images related to drug trafficking were recovered, as well as a total of 1,194 lines of conversation between the accused and other individuals using EncroChat handles.

Officers were able to uncover the messages from a phone found at his house.

Martin Murphy was filmed by police surveillance officers receiving a package from another man COPFS

During a search in October 2021, a total of £153,650 and 7,680 euros were recovered, wrapped in plastic bands, as well as a small amount of cocaine.

One phone, later sent for analysis, was found to have a ‘Notes’ section that 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 was also found to be photos on his phone showing large bundles of cash and blocks of cocaine.

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.

Police later moved to arrest Murphy, who then drove away at high speed and on the wrong side of the road, narrowly avoiding other vehicles.

He discarded the package, believed to contain cocaine with a street value of £90,000, from his car window during the police chase on the M8 motorway. He was later arrested following the search at his home.

Money recovered from the home of Martin Murphy COPFS

Murphy, of Uddingston, South Lanarkshire, was sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh after pleading guilty to drug offences between April and October 2021.

He 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.”