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Five men have admitted their roles in an extensive criminal enterprise involving £4 million worth of cocaine and illicit money laundering, following a police investigation. The group was apprehended after authorities uncovered a drug manufacturing laboratory established in a flat bedroom located in Glasgow’s Lambhill area during 2024.
The High Court in Glasgow heard that the criminal activities occurred throughout 2023 and 2024, with the operation being part of a broader enforcement effort known as Operation Silhouette. Ian McIntyre, aged 31, Kieran Doherty, 30, Calum McKelvie, 29, Jack Sanderson, 34, and Martin Tracey, 31, have all been held on remand and are awaiting sentencing next month.
During proceedings, prosecutor Derick Nelson outlined the case, emphasizing the scale and sophistication of the operation. He explained that the group was engaged in large-scale drug supply and the laundering of the proceeds. Nelson detailed how Doherty’s former home in Gartcosh was used as a safe house for storing substantial amounts of cash, which were then funneled into financing the production, division, and distribution of illegal drugs. Surveillance footage showed McIntyre frequently transporting weighted bags believed to contain money, while McKelvie, Sanderson, and Tracey acted as couriers within the network.
The court was presented with evidence of multiple significant cash exchanges between May and June 2023, involving sums of £100,000, £67,020, and £51,110. A recorded conversation captured McIntyre and an associate discussing “not doubling the money, but trebling it,” highlighting the aim to multiply illicit gains. Further police intelligence led to a vehicle stop on the M74 motorway in March 2024, where nearly £200,000 in cash was discovered, intended for delivery to a phone shop in Manchester. Additional finds included more than £200,000 taped in bags inside a car boot and other large cash amounts recovered from various locations. Large quantities of cocaine were also seized in separate incidents, including 15 blocks with an estimated value of £1.5 million, marked distinctively with a smiling face and the letter ‘M.’ Another concealed shipment worth £290,000 was found in a car equipped with a hidden compartment.
Police raided the drugs laboratory in May 2024, discovering Sanderson and Tracey present at the scene. Officers reported a “strong smell of chemicals” while entering the flat, observing three men wearing gloves and industrial respirators. The room, prepared for drug processing, contained white powder blocks, kitchen appliances such as a microwave and oven, a hydraulic press, and large fans for ventilation. The cocaine processed there had a purity level reaching 80% and a potential market value of almost £1.5 million. On 29 November 2024, law enforcement conducted coordinated raids on thirteen addresses related to the gang, resulting in the suspects being taken off bail and remanded in custody by Lord Arthurson, with sentencing postponed pending further reports
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