North East drug dealers caught with 73,000 ecstasy pills in house – The Northern Scot
A pair of North East men caught with more than 73,000 ecstasy tablets in a house have been jailed.
Connor Holmes (24) and Scott Roddie (29) from Aberdeen distributed class A drugs across the world.
In December 2018, two parcels addressed to Holmes from the Netherlands were intercepted and found to contain 8.2kg of MDMA powder.
The police subsequently raided his home and recovered 73,366 tablets worth at least £733,660 and £8500 in cash.
A day later a further parcel, addressed to Holmes, containing cocaine, heroin, and more MDMA was recovered.
Both Holmes and Roddie pleaded guilty to being involved in the supply and importation of controlled drugs when they appeared at the High Court in Edinburgh in March last year.
At the same court today Holmes was sentenced to two years and three months.
Meanwhile, Roddie was jailed for six years and three months.
Their convictions were welcomed by both police and prosecutors.
Detective Inspector Tom Gillan said: “From the address in Aberdeen, Holmes and Roddie were able to receive and distribute illicit drugs, with a street value of around £1.3million on an international scale.
“The men made use of the dark web and cryptocurrencies to support their criminal market place and used the UK postal system to distribute the drugs.
“This is an example of a targeted investigation which disrupted a developed and sophisticated criminal model, based in the North East of Scotland.”
Meanwhile, Gerry McLean from the National Crime Agency said: “These two men were responsible for the global distribution of class A drugs on an industrial scale.
“It is only right that they spend time behind bars.
“Holmes and Roddie thought that they could evade law enforcement by using the dark web and cryptocurrencies, hiding behind computer screens, and tricking our postal service into facilitating their dirty work.”