Change and continuality : a contemporary history of drug-based organised crime in the west of Scotland since the 1980s

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In Britain, organised crime primarily centres on the illicit drugs trade where criminal groups have grown increasingly sophisticated. Recent police operation Folklore, resulted in the apprehension of Scotland’s most sophisticated Organised Crime Group: estimated to have a monthly intake of approximately £2,000,000 from drug sales, in addition to a stockpile of military grade weaponry, anti surveillance technology, and explosives. The arrests shed light on the true extent of organised crime in Scotland. In recent decades organised crime has increased, and become cemented on drug supply in Scotland. No research exists chronologically tracing and signalling, how organised crime became centred around this phenomenon. This thesis thus traces the growth and development of drug-related organised criminal activity in Scotland, linking predecessors together while also identifying the conditions which give rise to such groups and a growing drugs market. The research compiled here comprises primary and secondary data sources, including oral interviews with six ex-offenders involved in organised crime, practitioners and public members with relevant and expert insight into organised crime in Scotland. Statements and insights are supported by analysis of historical text and other sources on the subject. The thesis details the chronological development of drug-based organised crime in Scotland, and puts forward recommendations as how to best tackle the problem.

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