Drug gang members see sentences cut

SIX men linked to an Edinburgh drug gang busted by an undercover police sting have had their sentences cut by nine months.

Flamboyant ex-boxer James Carlin, 24, is serving a nine-year sentence after being found guilty of being a kingpin in a cocaine supply racket.

A trial heard how he had spent thousands of pounds on designer goods, expensive watches and exotic holidays until detectives posing as criminals infiltrated his gang.

The operation led, directly or indirectly, to the seizure of drugs with a street value estimated at more than 200,000.

Earlier, a number of Carlin's underlings, including his brother Terence, had admitted drugs charges and had been given sentences ranging from three years to five years and three months.

But at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh their lawyers protested, claiming that the parts they had played had been exaggerated.

Judge Lady Paton, sitting with Lord Philip, agreed and yesterday announced reduced sentences for six of the seven who had appealed.

Terence Carlin, 22, Andrew McQueenie, 22, James Young, 25, Darren Sutherland, 26, James Hunter, 20, and James Arthur, 22, all saw their sentences cut.