An “incredibly stupid” drug dealer who feared being killed by Spanish gangsters after £253,600 of their high-purity cocaine was seized by the police has been jailed.
Aiden McCrea, 20, was caught with the drugs after detectives learned he was involved in trafficking large quantities of the Class-A narcotic into the north-east of Scotland.
The High Court in Edinburgh was told that McCrea – a joiner by trade – is immature and got involved in the criminal enterprise thinking “it would be like something out of a film” but now realised the error of his ways.
Police officers found cocaine with a purity of between 80 to 85 per cent – which could have fetched more than a quarter of a million pounds
‘There’s a kilo and a half in the shed’
The drugs squad also found a phone belonging to McCrea – who lives with his parents – which had the highly encrypted messaging app Signal installed on it.
They found he had been communicating with people in Spain about the substances.
The court heard that two of the people he was communicating with were called “Cristiano” and “Keano” – the court heard that the latter crook used a photograph of the former Manchester United player Roy Keane on his Signal profile.
McCrea was described as being a “soldier” in one of the messages.
Judge Lord Weir heard that when he was arrested at the house in Aberlour, where the drugs were kept, McCrea admitted his guilt to the police.
He “spontaneously” stated: “There’s a kilo and a half in the shed. I just got phoned by a boy in Spain and told what to do.
“What’s there is nothing compared to what is usually there.
“I honestly don’t know what I can or can’t say. If I say anything these guys will kill me.”
The story emerged after McCrea, of Elgin, Moray, pleaded guilty in June 2023 to a charge of being concerned in the supply of cocaine between May 16 2022 and July 14 2022.
Prosecutor David Dickson told the court how police discovered that McCrea was using the house in Dailumaine Terrace in Aberlour as a place to store the cocaine.
Defence advocate Simon Gilbride described his client as “incredibly stupid” and “immature”.
Mr Gilbride said his client knew that he had brought shame upon his family and wanted to work to ensure that he made them proud of him.
Today, Lord Weir ordered that McCrea serve 32 months detention at YOI Polmont.
Passing sentence, he said: “I have listened very carefully to the submissions advanced on your behalf.
“However, I do not consider that the public interest would be served by taking any course other than the imposition of a custodial sentence.”
‘You’re responsible for a lot of money’
At the hearing last month, arriving at the property on July 14 2022 to execute a search warrant, they saw McCrea sitting in the driver’s seat of a car beside another male.
Mr Dickson told the court that McCrea then left the car carrying a yellow JD Sports bag which he dropped when he saw the police officers leaving their car.
The court heard that McCrea was arrested and he told the police where they could find the drugs. He told them that he usually kept more than the quantities of cocaine which were recovered.
Mr Dickson read a selection of the Signal messages to the court.
In one message sent on May 25 2022 , Cristiano told McCrea that he’d be paid £400 per week. In a voice message sent on June 1 2022, Cristiano also said: “Don’t f*****g lie to me. You’re responsible for a lot of money.”
Mr Dickson added: “On June 4, a message exchange between Cristiano and the accused includes Cristiano saying to the accused ‘call me now or you and I have a serious problem’.
“It continues ‘if you don’t call me now I’ll send people to find you.’”
‘He thought it was going to be like something out of a film’
Mr Dickson told the court that on June 25 2022, Keano told McCrea: “Be ready you’re working tomorrow.”
Mr Dickson added: “On Sunday June 26 2022, Keano tells the accused to meet someone at 3pm.
“Descriptions of vehicles are passed between the two and the password the purchaser is to give to the accused is ‘Juventus’.
“On June 28, the accused asks if he is finished for the night and he’s told he is but to prepare as tomorrow is the ‘big day soldier boy’.”
The court that McCrea had no previous convictions and worked as an apprentice joiner.
On Friday, Mr Gilbride told the court that McCrea was immature.
He added: “He is incredibly stupid. He is immature. He presents as somebody who is young than what he actually is.
“He thought it was going to be like something out of a film but he realises how different it was now.”
The advocate said McCrea became involved because he was he was promised £400 per week.
‘It has been a massive wake up call for him’
The court heard that his total pay should have been £2,200 for the time he was involved in drug dealing but he only made £1,200.
Mr Gilbride said: “He was very scared. He was not in a position to quibble about his contractual position.”
The lawyer also said McCrea knew he had brought “shame” upon his family. The court heard that McCrea’s parents stood by him and have a “plan” for him once he is released from custody.
He added: “It has been a massive wake up call for him.
“He is determined to grow up and to be a son that they can be proud of.”
Before ordering him to be taken into custody, Lord Weir also urged McCrea to learn from his mistakes.
He added: “If you do so there is no reason why you can’t live a successful and productive life.”