Pair caught in £4m cocaine handover on Glasgow street after police tip off

Two men have been jailed for a total of almost ten years after police seized £4m of high-purity cocaine.

Shaun Willis, 35, and Brian Skinner, 58, were caught after they were seen handing over drugs in Dennistoun, Glasgow, on October 12, 2023.

The pair were sentenced, having earlier pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of the class A narcotic.

Willis was jailed for five years and three months at the High Court in Glasgow, while Skinner was sentenced to four years and six months by judge Lord Mulholland.

The court earlier heard how police had been tipped off that a large quantity of drugs was being ferried into Scotland in a grey Cupra car.

Prosecutor David McDonald said this car was then spotted being driven north on the M74 by Willis.

He eventually stopped in the city’s Dunragit Sreet and parked up beside an Audi A4 with Skinner behind the wheel.

It was there a haul of drugs went from one car to the other before police swooped.

Skinner had 25 taped packages in his vehicle, Willis still had 15 in his.

Skinner, of Perth, made no comment to police.

Mr McDonald told the hearing that Willis, of Southport, Merseyside, said he had travelled from the Merseyside area to Glasgow that day.

“This was in order to meet with Mr Skinner and provide him with 25kg of cocaine,” the prosecutor said.

“He went on to tell officers that he intended to meet with another individual with the 15kg of cocaine in his car before he was stopped.”

The drugs had a purity of up to 78%.

Mr McDonald said the potential value, if sold in the smallest street deal of one gram, was just over £4m.

Skinner’s lawyer, Graeme Brown, told the sentencing hearing he had been involved in an addiction therapy business and was someone capable of making “a strong, meaningful contribution to society”.

Mr Brown: “It is most unfortunate to find himself at this age to be involved in this offence.”

David Nicholson, defending Willis, said he had a personal issue at the time and had been “a one-day courier” for the drugs.

He was due to be paid £2,000 to service a debt owed.