Cases

Man who discarded box full of drugs near residential houses is jailed

A drugs courier who disposed of cocaine worth hundreds of thousands of pounds in the street during a high-speed police car pursuit has been jailed for five years and four months.

William Paterson, 35, discarded nine kilos of the Class A drug concealed in a black box beside a residential housing estate near Hogganfield Loch in Glasgow in March last year. 

He then drove his Mercedes car straight at an unmarked police car. 

Paterson was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow after he pled guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine. The charge was aggravated by a connection to serious organised crime. 

He will now be the subject of confiscation action under proceeds of crime legislation to recover monies made from illegal conduct. 

Moira Orr, who leads on homicide and major crime for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said: 

“This was a highly successful prosecution which has removed a large quantity of drugs from our streets and caused significant disruption to the local supply chain. 

“William Paterson will now spend time in prison paying for his crimes thanks to an extensive police operation, working with COPFS, to investigate a network of drug supply.  

“Drug trafficking wrecks lives and blights communities where drugs take hold. 

“The Crown will continue working with the police and other agencies as a member of Scotland’s Serious and Organised Crime Taskforce to ensure that these crimes are detected and those responsible prosecuted using all measures at our disposal.” 

The court heard how officers carried out surveillance on Paterson as part of Operation Windstriker, which focused on the activities of an organised crime gang responsible for the sale and supply of drugs throughout the West of Scotland. 

Officer spotted Paterson, described as a personal trainer, collecting a black plastic box from another male in the Springboig area and placing it in the boot of his Mercedes before driving away. 

Ten minutes later, they decided to apprehend the accused at a traffic junction on Cumbernauld Road. 

But Paterson performed a U-turn on the busy carriageway, hitting an unmarked police vehicle and other cars before driving off at high speed back in the direction of Glasgow. 

He was eventually seen in a cul-de-sac where he drove his car directly at a police vehicle before being arrested. Paterson was uninjured but two officers were treated in hospital for whiplash injuries. 

Detectives who searched the car found £6,370 in loose notes but there was no sign of the black box. 

However, they retraced Paterson’s route during the pursuit and discovered the container on a street across from Hogganfield Loch, where its contents were revealed. 

The street value of the retrieved cocaine was placed between £719,040 and £898,000.