Six jailed for 'determined campaign' of drug dealing in Edinburgh

SIX members of a drug-dealing gang were jailed yesterday after they attempted to flood the streets with hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of heroin and cocaine, police said.

Ringleaders Paul Ward and Shaun McKinnon who co-ordinated a "determined campaign" in Edinburgh were arrested during the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency's (SCDEA) Operation Venom.

The five month-long investigation netted almost five kilograms of class A drugs with a street value of more than 298,000.

Lord Kinclaven sentenced 29-year-old Ward to seven years and six months in jail at the High Court in Edinburgh today. McKinnon, 23, was sentenced to four years and six months.

The SCDEA said Kevin Jones, 43, was sentenced to three years; Duncan McDonald, 29, was sentenced to three years and nine months; Jamie Sweeney, 24, was sentenced to two years and six months and Nicholas Brown, 37, was sentenced to two years and six months.

All six men, who are from Edinburgh, pleaded guilty in February to being concerned in the supply of controlled drugs.

Detective Chief Superintendent Allan Moffat, head of Investigations Group, SCDEA, said: "This crime group was responsible for supplying a significant amount of class A drugs; the amount of illegal substances seized as a result of our investigation provides an indication of the scale of drug-dealing these individuals were involved with.

"It also provides some suggestion as to the level of profit they were generating from their illegal enterprise.

"By locking up those responsible we hopefully provide some respite to our communities and also send a clear message to others involved in serious organised crime."

Ward, McKinnon and Jones were arrested on 29 May last year after the three were seen meeting in a vehicle on Old Dalkeith Road in Edinburgh. Officers found Jones had concealed 225 grams of heroin with an approximate street value of 20,000 in his clothing during the meeting.

McDonald was arrested on 18 February last year in the Dumfries and Galloway area after officers followed him to Rochdale, where he collected a quantity of drugs.