A TULLIBODY man responsible for the distribution of drugs within Forth Valley has been jailed this week.

At Lanark High Court on Thursday, November 2, Craig McEwan was sentenced to five years in prison, reduced to three years and nine months after the 36-year-old previously pled guilty to drug offences.

Officers say the substances, valued at more than £130,000, were similar to the well-known drug M-CAT and it was unusual for them to be seen in Scotland. 

They also said the drugs could have caused "untold harm" to people in the Wee County and across Central Scotland.

McEwan was the subject of a joint investigation involving Forth Valley Proactive CID, Border Force and the National Crime Agency after he was identified as being involved in importing Class B Drugs Methylethcathinone, Pentedrone and Clephedrone into the UK from China between January and November 2014.

Border Force agents intercepted eight packages that were due to be delivered to a business premises in Stirling, addressed to a fake name, where 34-year-old Andrew Jones would then take delivery of them.

Jones has already been sentenced to three years and six months for his involvement.

In total, over six kilos of the drugs were recovered with a maximum street value of around £132,000.

Detective Constable Gillian Rennie, from Stirling CID, said: "The drugs being imported from China were due to be distributed within the local communities across Forth Valley, where they could do untold harm.

"As a result of this collaborative investigation both Jones and McEwan were arrested for their involvement, with both having received significant custodial sentences.

"Tackling drug crimes remains one of our top priorities and whenever we receive intelligence relating to such offences we will dedicate the necessary resources to identify those involved and bring them to justice.

"If you would like to report ongoing drug crime in your area then please contact us via 101 or make an anonymous report to the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."