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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
James Rodger & Brett Gibbons

Drugs found stuffed inside children's toys in country's biggest crystal meth and MDMA haul

A man has pleaded guilty to a number of drug charges after large quantities of MDMA was found hidden in children's toys.

Patrick Scotland, 28, of White City, west London, will be sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday after pleading guilty to the allegations.

Officers believe the haul of Class A and B drugs with a £2.3 million estimated street value is believed to be the largest seizure of MDMA and crystal meth from a residential address in the UK.

Scotland admitted three counts of possession with intent to supply a Class A drug and two charges of possession with intent to supply a Class B drug, BirminghamLive reports.

He has also admitted being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of a class A drug, and also to the possession of a weapon.

UK Border Force officers discovered the haul while carrying out routine checks on postal items when they found MDMA hidden in children's toys in packages that were addressed to Scotland.

Police were also alerted by council staff who discovered a large quantity of suspected Class A drugs at Scotland's address when they were carrying out routine gas safety checks on February 12.

Sealed bags and Tupperware tubs containing various types of pills and powders - including several kilos of crystal meth, MDMA and cocaine, 185,000 ecstasy pills, eight kilos of cannabis resin and over 10,000 LSD tabs, along with drug paraphernalia - were uncovered at the property.

Officers also believe it is first seizure of its kind in helping dismantle a dark web drugs site in the UK, as items that were advertised online were the same as those found at Scotland's address.

Unique motifs stamped on the pills linked them back to Scotland.

Detective Sergeant Kieran Curry, of the Central West Gangs Unit, said: "This is a fantastic example of a collaborative effort to crack down on drug-related criminality, which ultimately enabled us to remove a vast amount of Class A and B drugs from the streets of London."

He added: "The evidence we built against Scotland was overwhelmingly strong and ultimately led to a guilty plea. It is a sterling example of the work that goes on behind the scenes to ensure such offenders are brought to justice.

"We take a zero-tolerance approach to drug dealing and the associated violence that comes with it."

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