A senior member of an organized crime group who ran an amphetamine laboratory in Scotland has been jailed for 13 years.
Colin Wright, 38, fled to Murcia in Spain to avoid capture after his fellow gang members were captured in a National Crime Agency (NCA) operation in March 2021.
Wright, formerly of Motherwell, was the leader of the group’s Scottish branch and was actively involved in heroin and cocaine trafficking.
He is the last member of the gang to be jailed, with six others already in prison.
Wright worked with Terence Earle, 50, who was jailed for more than 16 years, and his cousin Stephen Earle, 52, who was sentenced to 11 years and four months in August.
He used the encrypted telephone network EncroChat with the username “Jack Nicklaus” to find drugs, assess supply routes and find customers.
The NCA investigation was part of Operation Venetic, the British-led response to the removal of the EncroChat service in July 2020.
Wright pleaded guilty to five drug charges at Liverpool Crown Court last month.
During the first Covid lockdown, he set up an amphetamine laboratory in Motherwell in March 2020. 1,000 kg of amphetamine could be produced.
He also helped ship at least 20kg of cocaine and 10kg of heroin between Motherwell and Merseyside.
NCA Division Commander Cat McHugh said: “Wright’s case shows that criminals seeking refuge abroad are never immune from the reach of law enforcement.
“His conviction means we have completely dismantled this organized crime group that posed a grave danger to communities across Scotland and Merseyside, with the drugs they trafficked fueling violence and exploitation.”
