Man caught with carrier bags of cocaine worth £300,000 jailed

A man caught in a £300,000 cocaine operation has been jailed for 40 months.

Declan Price, 29, worked with drug kingpin Paul Easdon, 38, who was caught during a police probe which saw him kept under watch.

The High Court in Glasgow heard how a Renault Clio had been stopped in the city’s Sandyhills on August 2, 2024.

Price, of Ruchazie, Glasgow, got out clutching two carrier bags.

Prosecutor Vish Kathuria told the hearing: “One of them was searched and found to contain two taped blocks of cocaine.

“The other bag had three taped blocks of the drug. Each weighed one kilogram.”

Easdon’s DNA was found on two of the packages discovered.

Mr Kathuria stated the haul had a total potential value of around £300,000.

Easdon and Price admitted to a charge of being concerned in the supply of cocaine.

Price appeared in the dock on Thursday to be sentenced.

Judge Lord Arthurson said: “Your objective was a significant personal financial gain. Plainly, a custodial sentence is inevitable.”

Easdon, of Strathaven, Lanarkshire, is already serving six years behind bars.

He was sentenced in October 2024 for his part in a huge drug trafficking operation. Easdon will appear to be sentenced for his latest matter next month.

The flash dealer had boasted how the cartel was making £4m a month from selling cocaine alone.

Easdon was in the same criminal network as ex-Mr Scotland bodybuilder John Barry McDuff, jailed separately for seven years in 2024.

The pair had been caught after law authorities smashed the EncroChat phone network used by scores of gangs.

Easdon had used the nickname “glasgowceltic” to communicate with associates on it.

Laura Radcliffe, defending Price, told the sentencing that her client’s offending started amid a fallout with his uncle, who was his employer.

The advocate added: “He had temporary employment, which did not work out, and he was in a difficult financial position with debts accruing.

“He came into contact with those involved in the drug trade, and the opportunity was made available to him to make some money – he had not been involved in this before.

“This is something he will regret for the rest of his life and has had an effect on his family who are disappointed in him. He is disappointed that he finds himself before the court.”