Dad who brought £400k drugs into Scotland as county lines courier is jailed

A press operator who brought nearly 40 kilos of cannabis to Scotland has been jailed for 18 months.

Lukas Losinski was responsible for bringing drugs worth nearly £400,000 north of the border during a series of runs from Blackburn in England.

The father-of-one, who lives in Dundee, started doing drug runs to make quick money after being asked to be a courier by a random man he met in a nightclub.

Dundee Sheriff Court was told that Losinski - who initially claimed he did not know what was in the packages - was being paid £500 for each run he completed.

Police Scotland got a tip-off about the illicit cross-border runs and found cannabis worth £78,110 in Losinski's home when they raided it on 19 January last year.

Losinski, 35, admitted being concerned in the supply of cannabis at his home between October 1, 2022 and January. 19, 2023.

Sheriff Tim Niven-Smith said: "He must have known it was illegal. He clearly knew he was involved in an illegal supply chain. On the journey he detected the smell of cannabis from the box.

"Police recovered eight slightly under-weight kilo packages of cannabis and I'm told that if they were sold 'as seen' they would fetch up to £6,500 each.

"If broken down into the lowest street deal the drugs recovered from him would have been worth £78,110. That is a considerable quantity of cannabis.

"Unfortunately for you, the information the court was provided with is that you had carried out other cross-border trips to England and brought shipments of cannabis back to Scotland.

"It would be a legitimate inference for me to proceed on the basis that the other four trips you made involved similar quantities of cannabis," the sheriff told Losinski.

"I draw that inference from the fact you told police you were paid the same amount for each trip. The trips were very similar in nature.

"It is my position it is not speculation, but deduction, that over the three month period you were potentially concerned in the supply of approximately 40 kilos of cannabis, with a potential value of £390,000.

"You performed a limited role under the direction of others, but it is important to stress two things. Firstly, without people like you the pernicious supply of drugs couldn't take place.

"Secondly, you were not coerced into this by pressure, intimidation or control by other, more serious, criminals. You became involved out of a desire to make money.

"You spun the roulette wheel with your and your family's lives. You acted as a courier bringing drugs from England to Scotland and stored them for other criminals.

"A clear message has to be sent to deter others from agreeing, as you did, to making fast money by involving themselves in the supply of drugs."

Solicitor Doug McConnell, defending, told the court: "He takes full responsibility for his actions and expresses his apologies and regret. There was a lack of understanding of the consequences."

Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond. Sign up to our daily newsletter.