Dundee drug trafficker jailed for 12 years after return to illegal trade following previous prison sentence.

Dundee trafficker returned to prison for 12 years after previous term

A convicted drug trafficker was jailed for 12 years yesterday after he returned to the illegal trade following a prison sentence.

Christopher Bruce, 42, directed others to collect, store and supply drugs in 2017.

He was also involved in the supply of heroin, amphetamine and cannabis with a potential value of more than £400,000 on the streets aggravated by a link to serious organised crime.

Bruce was previously jailed for four years for being concerned in the supply of cocaine with a serious crime aggravation.

A judge at the High Court in Edinburgh told Bruce and his co-accused Colin Stewart they were guilty of “extremely serious drug trafficking offences”.

Lord Arthurson said it was “an abhorrent and corrosive crime” which inflicted lasting damage on communities.

The judge said Bruce, from Dundee, had played a significant role in the crime group involved in the case.

He jailed father-of-two Stewart for his role in the supply of cannabis and for directing others to collect and transfer drugs in August 2017 for six years.

Stewart, 35, from Aberdeen, is

“He has no alcohol or drug issues. He is in good health.

BILL ADAM, COUNSEL FOR ACCUSED

currently serving a sentence of three years and 11 months for drug supply. The sentence imposed on him yesterday will begin at the end of that.

Both men had denied a string of charges during a trial but Bruce was convicted of the four he faced and Stewart was found guilty of two. Neither man gave evidence.

Jurors heard those involved in the direction and movement of controlled drugs tended not to have a hands-on involvement.

Advocate depute Erin Campbell said: “They are somewhere else hiding behind the safety of burner phones.”

The court was told they would buy cheap “almost throw away phones”, known as burners, to conduct their criminal business.

Prosecutors used evidence from phone analysis and surveillance operations to help to catch the pair.

During the trial jurors were told that in February 2017 amphetamine with a maximum value of £100,000 and heroin worth even more was recovered from a house in Raglan Street, in Dundee.

In August that year another batch of heroin was found at an address in Dunmore Street, Dundee, along with 28 kilos of cannabis with a potential to realise up to £110,000.

Defence counsel Gary Allan QC, for Bruce, said he had been fully employed as a carer for his wife who is housebound.

Bill Adam, counsel for Stewart, said: “He has no alcohol or drug issues. He is in good health.”

The Crown has applied for serious crime prevention orders to be made against Bruce, who is currently in Perth prison, and Stewart, who is in Grampian jail.