Moray drug dealer caught with £250k of cocaine is jailed
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An Aberlour drug dealer who feared being killed by Spanish gangsters after £253,600 of high-grade cocaine was seized at his home has been jailed.
Aiden McCrea (20) was caught after detectives learned he was involved in trafficking large quantities of the narcotic.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard how officers found cocaine with a purity of between 80 to 85%.
The drugs squad also discovered a phone belonging to McCrea – who lives with his parents – which had the highly encrypted messaging app Signal installed upon it.
McCrea had been using this to communicate with two Spanish gangsters who went by the aliases of 'Cristiano' and 'Keano'.
The second crook used a photograph of the former Manchester United player Roy Keane on his Signal profile.
McCrea was described as being a "soldier boy" in one of the messages.
When arrested in Aberlour he immediately admitted his guilt to the police.
McCrea stated: "There’s a kilo and a half in the shed. I just got phoned by a boy in Spain and told what to do.
"What’s there is nothing compared to what is usually there. I honestly don’t know what I can or can’t say. If I say anything these guys will kill me."
McCrea pleaded guilty in June to being concerned in the supply of cocaine between May 16, 2022 and July 14, 2022.
Sentence was deferred until today for the court to obtain reports on his background.
Defence advocate Simon Gilbride said: "He is immature. He presents as somebody who is younger than what he actually is.
"He thought it was going to be like something out of a film but he realises how different it was now."
In one message Cristiano told McCrea that he’d be paid £400 per week.
Another said: “Don’t ******* lie to me. You’re responsible for a lot of money."
While a third said: "Call me now or you and I have a serious problem. If you don’t call me now I’ll send people to find you."
The court heard that his total pay should have been £2200 for the time he was involved in drug dealing but he only made £1200.
Mr Gilbride said: "He was very scared. He was not in a position to quibble about his contractual position."
The defence lawyer added that his client knew he'd brought shame upon his family.
Mr Gilbride said: "It has been a massive wake up call for him.
"He is determined to grow up and to be a son that they can be proud of."
The court was told that McCrea had no previous convictions and worked as an apprentice joiner.
Lord Weir ordered that he serve 32 months detention at the Polmont young offenders institution.
Passing sentence, the judge said: "I have listened very carefully to the submissions advanced on your behalf.
"However, I do not consider that the public interest would be served by taking any course other than the imposition of a custodial sentence."
Before ordering him to be taken into custody, Lord Weir urged McCrea to learn from his mistakes.
He added: "If you do so there is no reason why you can’t live a successful and productive life."
