ONE of Scotland's biggest gangsters and his daughter have been jailed for drugs offences after a major police investigation into a UK-wide crime ring.

Edward McCreadie, a former associate of late crime lord Tam McGraw, was jailed for 12 years and eight months for his part in a multimillion-pound scheme that flooded Scots streets with heroin.

His daughter, Roseanne McCreadie, 32, was jailed for nine years for her part in the operation, which involved multiple kilos being trafficked from Liverpool to Glasgow on at least 18 occasions.

McCreadie, 54, sourced the heroin from a crime gang in Liverpool and arranged its distribution throughout Scotland.

He was caught after Merseyside police conducted a surveillance operation on a number of drug traffickers and followed couriers to Glasgow.

The investigation, which was carried out by Titan (the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit) over an eight-month period, extended to South Wales, Lancashire and Cheshire and resulted in a total of 19 arrests.

Detective Superintendent Jason Hudson, head of Titan, said: "Edward McCreadie is regarded as a significant organised criminal who was receiving multiple kilos of heroin from traffickers in Liverpool.

"He was previously jailed for 15 years in another drugs case and was out on licence for that case when he became involved in this one."

McCreadie's home in Rutherglen, and his daughter's house, also in the South Lanarkshire town, were subjected to dawn raids on December 7.

Officers seized mobile phones from the homes and recovered a piece of paper listing amounts of money owed by drug dealers from a vehicle in Menteith Drive.

They were arrested and charged with conspiring to supply class A drugs. McCreadie pled guilty at Liverpool Crown Court in March and Roseanne McCreadie was found guilty after a subsequent trial.

They were sentenced yesterday as part of a group of 13 criminals who were jailed for a total of 152 years after being caught with heroin, cocaine, amphetamine and class C tablets with a street value of around £2.5 million. Police also recovered £37,000.

Scot Gordon Smith, of Glasgow, was also jailed for 12 years yesterday for his part in the crime ring, which involved him linking the McCreadies to a safehouse for the drugs.

At an earlier hearing at Carlisle Crown Court, John Cockburn, 42, of Glasgow, also pled guilty to possessing heroin with intent to supply after he was caught with four kilos of heroin while driving along the M6 just before Burton in Kendal services in October last year.

Strathclyde Police's major crime and terrorism unit gathered evidence and made arrests in Scotland.

Detective Superintendent Andy Gunn, from the police unit, said: "Eddie McCreadie has been a well-known individual to Strathclyde Police over the years. He's a major person within organised crime in Strathclyde and clearly his role was to arrange the supply of class A drugs to Scotland.

"They were operating in conjunction with a crime group in Merseyside with the intention of bringing drugs into Scotland and causing misery on our streets, so the fact we could secure these jail sentences is an excellent success. It shuts down that organised crime group and a major supply route into Glasgow."

Liverpool ring leaders John Cooke, 32, and James Swarez, 44, were each jailed for 17 years.

Associates John Wildman, 40, Paul McDonald, 44, Brian Harrison, 50, David Law, 53, and Jonathan Earley, 46, were also jailed, along with David Jolly, 44, and James Beck, 47, from Lancashire and Jonathan Cromwell, 36, from Cardiff.

Five others were convicted on various drugs charges.