Five members of an organised crime gang have been jailed for almost 20 years for their role in the north-east drug trade.
The men were caught with illegal substances, worth more than £320,000, which would have been sold throughout Aberdeen and the surrounding area.
Anthony Shrimpton, 39, was identified as the leader of the criminal network and jailed earlier this year for nine years and eight months.
A police surveillance operation discovered he was responsible for trafficking significant quantities of cocaine, cannabis and cannabis resin between Liverpool and the north east.
He was found guilty of directing serious organised crime and three counts of supplying drugs at the High Court in Glasgow.
Four members of his gang have also been sentenced for their part in the operation.
Lee Shrimpton, 37, of Liverpool and John Campbell, 49, and Harald Reid, 25, both of Aberdeen, all admitted supplying drugs, while Elliot Edwards, 22, admitted an offence under proceeds of crime legislation.
Edwards was arrested at a bar in Glasgow carrying bags filled with nearly £30,000, accumulated from the sale of drugs.
Lee Shrimpton, meanwhile, was caught driving with cannabis resin bars worth £80,000 and cocaine worth nearly £91,000 between Liverpool and Aberdeen in December 2016.
A further £95,000 of cocaine and £16,000 each of cannabis and cannabis resin were seized by police in January 2017 on their way to Aberdeen.
Lee Shrimpton was jailed for more than three and a half years at Glasgow High Court yesterday while Elliot Edwards received a community payback order.
Campbell was jailed for three years and one month and Reid for three years and seven months.
Procurator Fiscal Liam Murphy said: “This was an extensive network of drug trafficking aimed at bringing significant quantities of illegal substances into the north-east of Scotland.”
