Collared: Whitburn drug gang member hid cocaine worth £900,000 in bags of dog food

A lorry driver from West Lothian has been handed a seven-and-a-half-year jail sentence following the seizure of cocaine worth almost £900,000 in Bathgate.

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As part of a proactive investigation into drug supply, officers from the joint National Crime Agency (NCA) and Police Scotland Organised Crime Partnership arrested John Neilson, aged 44, at a vehicle repair yard on Easton Road, Bathgate, in June 2020.

During a search of the van he had been driving 15 kilo blocks of cocaine were found, each hidden inside bags of dried dog food which had been transported to the location from a supplier in Staffordshire.

Busted: Neilson

Forensic checks would later reveal the blocks were 65 per cent pure cocaine, which meant once cut the drugs would have had a potential street value of around £875,000.

A search of Neilson’s home address in Whitburn uncovered further opened bags of the same dried dog food, but no further drugs.

READ MORE: Broxburn cannabis farm was the largest busted by police in Scotland this year

Neilson, who earned £60,000 a year as a scaffolder, pled guilty at the High Court in Glasgow to being concerned in the supply of cocaine, aggravated by a connection with serious organised crime.

He was jailed for seven and a half years.

The court heard that on June 18 last year, Neilson was put under surveillance during a probe into a crime gang.

The next day, police got a tip off that bags of dog food containing "illegal substances" would be delivered to a garage in Bathgate, West Lothian.

On June 22, a single pallet holding a number of white bags was unloaded there.

Detectives swooped with Neilson and three other individuals being stopped.

Neilson's hired Vauxhall Vivaro van was checked and 26 of what appeared to be bags of dog food were discovered in the back.

Prosecutor Margaret Barron said: "During the search of the 26 bags, a total of 15 of them were found to contain blocks wrapped in black tape.

"Each weighed approximately 1kg. All 15 were found to contain white powder...later identified as cocaine."

Neilson's home was also searched and seven open dog food bags - identical to those at the garage - were found along with £600 in cash.

He later told police he had hired the van on the day of the raids as he had been asked to collect "something".

He was unaware what it was claiming it was "better off not knowing".

READ MORE: Police recover over £100,000 worth of drugs from various locations across the Capital

Following the case, NCA Scotland Operations Manager Rob Miles said: “This was a substantial seizure of cocaine, made possible by the close co-operation of the NCA and Police Scotland working together under the Organised Crime Partnership.

“It also represents a substantial disruption for the crime group involved, depriving them of commodity and profit they would no-doubt have reinvested.”

Detective Inspector Tom Gillan of the Organised Crime Partnership (Scotland) added: “These drugs would have ended up on the streets of our local communities and Neilson played an important role in transporting cocaine into Scotland.

“Stopping the illicit flow of drugs into the country continues to a priority for Police Scotland and we work closely with our partners to investigate those involved in serious and organised crime.”

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