Lee Docherty, 37, Ian Millar, 39, Brendan Gillan, 32, his father Daniel Gillan, 60, and Christopher McKellar, 44 were arrested in 2020 in Greenock, Inverclyde following a major drugs bust. 

They were due to stand trial at the High Court , however, all 5 have pled guilty of being involved in serious organised crime between March and December 2020. 

There was a European police operation involving the French, Scottish and Dutch forces. The operation involved breaking through an EncroChat encrypted phone network which the gang had used to organise drugs trafficking. 

All five accused had code names on this messaging network and they used this network to operate the drug empire out of the Inverclyde area. 

The court were informed that Mr Lee Docherty was the lead member of the operation. Mr Sutherland provided leadership to the junior members. Mr Miler was a trusted recruit. Mr Gillan was involved in the daily running of the operation and Mr McKellar was involved in drug trafficking. 

The raid found a total of around £150,000 of drugs in addition to £12,775 of money.

Following their guilty plea they have been remanded in custody until their sentencing. It has been deferred for the preparation of background reports.