A LEGAL landmark has been hailed as a warning to the "Mr Bigs" of organised crime after a dealer was convicted and sentenced for being concerned in the supply of cocaine despite the fact police found no trace of the drug.
Police Scotland found Hugh Young with so much of the pharmaceutical drug Benzocaine - 26.2 kilos or nearly 60lbs - that it was established it was most likely destined for use as a mixing agent to bulk out cocaine.
Officers conservatively calculated the mixing drug could have been used to prepare cocaine to the value of up to £1.2 million.
In what is a courtroom first in Scotland and possibly also the UK, the legal and expert argument about Young's plans for the Benzocaine - legitimately used for medical purposes including as a dental anaesthetic - and other circumstantial evidence led to the 41-year-old being sentenced to 44 months in prison.
Police said after the case at the High Court in Glasgow yesterday that the ruling gave officers a significant new legal route to combat the manufacture and sale of illicit substances.
Unemployed Young, of Tyndrum, Perthshire, at first said he planned to use the substance, which was stored in containers marked as a food thickener called Sodium Alginate, as part of a biofuel business he was setting up, until faced with police evidence that included telephone records.
Young had previously pled guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine estimated to be worth between £336,000 to £1.2m between October 1 and November 12 last year. He also pled guilty to the production of cannabis worth £11,000.
Police found the Benzocaine in a cardboard box in his home and they believe it came to Scotland from Beijing in China, a known source for trafficking the substance with deals brokered on the internet and sealed using legitimate international money transfer companies.
Detective Chief Inspector Gordon Crossan led a year-long operation that involved undercover officers tracing the supply trail. He said the precedent "should serve as a warning to people who think that if they even store Benzocaine in our view it's the same as drug dealing".
The maximum sentence for the offences for which Young was convicted is 14 years.
In the sting, police allowed Young to receive the Benzocaine pack they had already intercepted before raiding his home. It was found Young had intended to mix Benzocaine with cocaine "for substantial profit".
Mr Crossan, from Police Scotland's Specialist Crime Division, said: "Hugh Young initially claimed he intended to use the Benzocaine in a legitimate business venture. However, officers were able to put together a case that ultimately proved his intention to supply cocaine.
"Faced with this, Young pled guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine, as well as the production of cannabis, and the sentence reflects the serious nature of his crimes.
"This investigation acts as a precedent for future cases where suspected dealers are caught in possession of significant quantities of mixing agent but no controlled substances, making it easier to secure convictions."
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