
A Scot has been jailed for seven years for his part in an international drugs and firearms racket that was smaashed in a Lancashire police operation.
Fife-born James Boyle, 47, was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court after he admitted conspiracy to supply class A and class C drugs.
Boyle, of Meldrum Road, Kirkcaldy, will serve seven years for conspiracy to supply class A drugs and four years concurrent for conspiracy to supply class C drugs.
He was part of a gang that used human drug mules to smuggle cocaine into the country.
Other members of the gang have been jailed for a total of 106 years on 18th May at Liverpool Crown Court.
All were arrested in a Lancashire police investigation codenamed "Operation Greengage" launched Operation Greengage in November 2006.
As the investigation progressed, an extensive organised crime group operating across England, Scotland and Europe was identified.
It became apparent that an organised crime group within Scotland was already being investigated by the Scottish Crime and Drugs Enforcement Agency.
Their investigation was focused on Edward McIntosh and Michael Hailwood who were involved in the importation of cocaine into the UK using predominantly Eastern European men who were flying into the UK with drugs stored internally.
Hailwood, 38, formerly of Liverpool, is serving a 22-year sentence after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine.
Edward McIntosh, 32, of Arbroath, who admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine, is serving a sentence of 16 years.
Detective Superintendent Steve Mounsey, who worked in the Serious and Organised Crime Unit at the time of the operation, said: "Boyle will now be spending a long time behind bars.
"Operation Greengage has been an incredibly complex and protracted investigation and required many hours of hard work from the investigation team.
"This operation highlights first class co-operation between Lancashire Constabulary, other police forces in the UK and Europe as well as agencies such as the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency and the Crown Prosecution Service.
"While Lancashire Constabulary is committed to targeting those organised crime groups operating within the county, which impact adversely upon its communities, we will also relentlessly pursue criminals from outside of the county if they enter into criminal conspiracies with their Lancashire associates.
"They should expect the same level of investigation and will inevitably receive a knock on their door from Lancashire police or one of its European partners."
Other members of the gang were Polish national Lucasz Litwinski, 24, also of Arbroath, Leslie Graham, 32, of Dundee, Martin Graham, 43, of Methil, Fife, Jason Bowley, 35, of Croydon, and Karol Siejda, 20, of Bradford. They are serving jail terms of between 11 and 15 years. All admitted the charges.
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