Glasgow men jailed after using solar panels to smuggle cocaine and heroin from Spain

Three men who were caught importing a large quantity of cocaine and heroin into Scotland from Spain hidden inside fake solar panels have been jailed.

John Bonner, Christopher Laycock and David Kelly, all of Glasgow, plotted with other members of a serious organised crime gang to import the drugs into Scotland in an international scheme spanning from March 2020 to January 2022.

Their activities were exposed when police stopped a van travelling from an industrial estate in Hillington to a business park in Essex.

Officers inspected the van and discovered five pallets with large, boxed items which were destined to a fictitious company in Alicante, Spain.

It was also found that the solar panel generators contained voids lined with lead and foil which could hold up to 400kg of controlled drugs, and are designed to prevent the contents being picked up by Border Force X-ray scanners.

Christopher Laycock, David Kelly, and John Bonner were jailed for a total of 18 years and five months at the High Court in Edinburgh. Police Scotland

Incriminating messages on the EncroChat phone network also helped to convict the trio, with conversations revealing vast sums of drugs-trafficking cash was involved as well as discussions over anti-surveillance techniques.

In one exchange, Laycock, who had a direct connection to cartel boss James White, said he had checked a vehicle in which cash had been hidden and it had “more than he thought”.

White then told him there was £1.3m in it, after earlier revealing he needed £800,000 in Scottish bank notes “moved” to another location.

Kelly’s involvement was confirmed after his DNA was found to be on the handles of the fake solar panels which he helped load onto the van at Hillington.

All three will now be subject to confiscation action under Proceeds of Crime legislation to recover monies made from their illegal activities.

They were jailed for a total of 18 years and five months at the High Court in Edinburgh after pleading guilty to being involved in the commission of serious organised crime.

Bonner was given five years and 10 months, Laycock sentenced to six years and nine months, and Kelly five years and ten months.

Sineidin Corrins, deputy procurator fiscal for serious casework at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said: “This is a significant prosecution.

“These three individuals played pivotal roles in a coordinated operation to import huge quantities of illegal and harmful drugs into Scotland from abroad.

“They are now serving lengthy prison sentences thanks to an extensive police operation, working with COPFS, to investigate a network of drug supply.

“I hope these convictions and the sentence send a strong message to others involved in this kind of criminal behaviour and demonstrates the ability of police and prosecutors to investigate, prepare and prosecute serious and organised crime of this nature.

“With each case of this kind we can help reduce the harm that these drugs inflict on Scotland’s communities.

“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.”