Three drug dealers have been locked up for their roles in a “sophisticated” organised crime operation in Aberdeen.
Daniel Edwards, 35, Liam Jones, 23, and Robert Tomlinson, 49, were arrested in simultaneous police raids following an intelligence-led operation at a number of different locations in the city.
The Press & Journal was invited to join cops on one of the raids, when Edwards was arrested at a property on Morrison Drive in the city.
And all three have now been put behind bars after admitting to being involved with a Liverpool-based organised crime gang that was selling drugs in the Granite City.
Fiscal depute Lucy Simpson told Aberdeen Sheriff Court that police received intelligence that the gang was involved in the supply of drugs in Aberdeen and launched a surveillance operation codenamed Makeshift.
Between January 13 and June 24 this year, Edwards was in possession of a mobile phone which was used to arrange drug deals and which was referred to as a “dealer phone”.
He was regularly seen by police exiting an address on Baker Street in Aberdeen and being driven away.
During the morning of January 19 Jones was seen to meet with a female within the communal entrance of another Baker Street address and carry out a “hand-to-hand drug exchange”.
Later the same day he met with several other people “of drug user appearance” within a Baker Street doorway.
At 12.47pm on January 20 Jones left Baker Street on a bicycle and travelled to Skene Square. He was stopped and searched by police who recovered 24 individual wraps of heroin with a total weight of 6.21g and a potential value of £310.
Examination of one of Jones’ phones found two missed calls from Edwards’ dealer phone, as well as texts which indicated involvement in the supply of drugs.
He was arrested and charged.
On February 13 Tomlinson purchased a top-up for Edwards’ dealer phone at a Spar store.
On February 25 officers observed Tomlinson exit the Baker Street address and meet with a woman loitering outside and carry out a drug transaction.
The woman was stopped by police as she left and found with 0.25g of cocaine worth £20.
Jones’ DNA was found on the wrap of drugs.
On June 8 a male contacted Edwards’ dealer phone looking to buy crack cocaine and was instructed to attend Wallfield Crescent in Aberdeen.
The man did so and was met by Tomlinson before a drug transaction was carried out.
Ms Simpson told the court: “On June 24 warrants were simultaneously executed and the accused Edwards, Tomlinson and Jones were arrested.”
Edwards arrested at an address on Morrison Drive and was in possession of the dealer phone.
A search of the property uncovered a sports bag containing 107.88g of phenacetin.
Ms Simpson said: “Phenacetin is not a controlled substance, but is a common adulterant for cocaine.”
Edwards, a prisoner of HMP Grampian, pled guilty to charges of being concerned in the supply of cocaine and heroin between January 13 and June 24 at Baker Street and Wallfield Crescent.
‘Pressure and various threats against him and his family’
David Sutherland, his solicitor, said Edwards had started using cannabis at the age of 13.
Mr Sutherland said police had previously raided his client’s home and seized cannabis he had been holding for someone else.
He said that sparked a “chain of events” with Edwards being told he had to repay the value of the seized drugs.
The solicitor said “pressure and various threats against him and his family” had been made and he was sent to Aberdeen to pay off the debt, taking phone calls and passing information on to others.
Jones, a prisoner of HMP Perth, admitted being concerned in the supply of cocaine and heroin between January 13 and February 25 at Hutcheon Street, Baker Street, River Don Gardens and Wallfield Crescent and elsewhere.
He also admitted breaching the terms of a bail order.
Stuart Beveridge, his lawyer, said Jones had also been a cannabis user and had built up a debt, which he was told he could pay off by becoming involved in this operation.
He said “increasing pressure” was put on him to do so.
Mr Beveridge added: “He was the runner basically and was sent out to do the hand-to-hand transactions.”
‘It was made clear to him there would be consequences’
Tomlinson, a prisoner of HMP Grampian, admitted being concerned in the supply of cocaine between February 13 and June 8 on Baker Street and Wallfield Crescent.
The drugs offences for all three accused included an aggravation of being connected with serious organised crime.
Defence agent Paul Barnett, representing Tomlinson, said his client had had a “longstanding problem with substance misuse”.
He said Tomlinson had been drug-free for a spell after being released from prison in 2018 but relapsed in February this year and quickly racked up a debt of £500.
He was put under pressure to repay the debt.
Mr Barnett said: “It was made clear to him there would be consequences if he did not do something to service the debt.”
He had acted as a “runner” on a few occasions and purchased the dealer phone top-up to earn the “allowance of time to pay back the debt”.
Sheriff William Summers described the operation as a “sophisticated one”, and said the way in which they had each become involved was a “depressingly familiar” tale.
He jailed Edwards and Jones for three years each and Tomlinson for 30 months.
Speaking after that raids that snared all three men, Detective Inspector Martyn Thomson, of Aberdeen CID, said: “Operation Makeshift is a County Line that has been operating in Aberdeen.
“Essentially, it is run by England-based organised crime group who exploit vulnerable people locally to serve Class A drugs in Aberdeen.
“The operation was a combination of six months’ work. Operation Makeshift aims to remove them entirely from the city and prevent them from exploiting vulnerable people and preventing the supply of Class A drugs in the north-east.”
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