Duo who sponsored Scottish Premiership club admit £12m cocaine trafficking plot

Two men whose company sponsored a Scottish Premiership club have admitted running a massive £12m cocaine trafficking operation.

David Stephen and Shaun Brown appeared to be respectable businessmen with the logo of their DX Home Improvements firm featuring on the sleeves of Motherwell FC strips.

However the pair, both 30, were involved in the purchase and sale of a huge 125kg of cocaine.

The duo were finally busted when police swooped days before Christmas last year.

Stephen had been in his £200,000 Lamborghini with Brown after the former had arrived in Scotland from Dubai.

The two men both admitted at the High Court in Glasgow to a charge of directing others to commit a serious offence.

The men, both of Hamilton, Lanarkshire, will be sentenced at a later date.

The cocaine dealing initially spanned between March and June 2020.

The pair communicated with associates on the EncroChat phone network used by criminals before it was busted by the law authorities.

Stephen was known as ‘narrowninja’, Brown used the handles ‘simplebull’ and “castlenut’.

They exchanged almost 12,000 messages with others including 26 individuals for the “purchase, collection, delivery, adulteration, storage and sale” of huge hauls of the class A drug.

Both also directed the pick-up of dirty money from their illegal trade.

Prosecutor Alexandria Kirk stated the pair were involved in the trafficking of up to five kilogrammes of cocaine during this time.

They organised for it to be cut with another substance to maximise profits bringing a potential value of £600,000.

Ms Kirk said: “Both kept and shared detailed accounts monitoring the incomings and outgoings of the criminal enterprise carried out at their direction.

“Stephen purchased a banknote counter and counterfeit cash detector from Amazon on March 26, 2020.

“A picture of the machine was shared by Stephen to an unidentified individual.

“This was followed by an image of 24 piles of cash.”

Stephen also sent photos of blocks of cocaine to an associate.

The pair were not caught at that time and remained managing directors of their seemingly successful home improvements business based in Lanarkshire.

As well as the partnership with Motherwell FC, the company also sponsored a family race night at Hamilton Park – each unaware of the pair’s crime links.

One of the duo featured on a podcast to speak about how well their company was doing.

But, they remained involved in high-level drug dealing.

The pair were snared by police shortly after Stephen had travelled from the upmarket Til Al Ghaf resort in Dubai to Scotland on a first class Emirates flight on December 23, 2025.

He was in his Lamborghini Urus having stopped at a petrol station in Cambuslang, Lanarkshire.

Brown was his passenger and both were held at the time.

Officers initially seized six mobiles.

A total of £1,077-worth of UAE dirhams were in a blue Louis Vuitton bag as well £750 elsewhere in the vehicle.

One black iPhone belonging to Stephen was found to have a string of encrypted messaging apps stored with evidence of both men being in a “group chat” with associates.

Ms Kirk said: “A total of 125kg of cocaine – at the direction of both – was purchased and sold between August 18 and December 23, 2025.

“The street value of 125kg of cocaine is estimated to be £11.25m if sold in one-gram deals at £90 per gram.”

The advocate depute explained further incriminating detail in texts found.

Ms Kirk said: “Messages contain multiple images of kilogram blocks of cocaine with different stamps and videos showing them being unwrapped.

“Several clips show Stephen handling the blocks.”

One individual – known as ‘Oscar’ – was to make more than 30 one-kilo “deliveries” of the drug in Glasgow, Lanarkshire and Ayr. He was then paid “wages” for carrying out the jobs.

Stephen sent Brown a spreadsheet – often listing six-figure sums – demonstrating what Ms Kirk stated was a “sophisticated operation”.

The court heard Brown moaned at one stage to an associate that he was “collecting absolute peanuts” for the cocaine this person had been given to sell.

Boasting how much cash they could rake in, Stephen stated to Brown: “It would mean we will have 1,772,050 cash, 1,307,205 due out.

“Leaves 464k for us.”

Ms Kirk said later messages revealed the duo were “struggling to pay their suppliers”.

But, she also told the court: “Both lived a lavish lifestyle which can be seen in TikTok and Instagram posts from both.

“They can be seen to enjoy luxury goods, expensive cars and first class flights.”

One photo showed Stephen with an expensive Rolex watch on his wrist with Brown tagged in and the message: “My brother. Thank you” along with a “love heart” emoji.

Another had a beaming Stephen sitting in a new car with the comment: “Matching Lambos with my brother. Dreams come true. Grateful for this life”.

Extra police were drafted into court for the two appearing amid reports of a suspected security risk involving one of them.

Sentencing was adjourned for reports.