Operation Bearskin seizes £500k worth of cannabis in Inverness

A man was jailed today after police recovered £500,000 of cannabis following an investigation targeting the illicit drugs trade in the Highlands.

Undercover officers took part in a months long surveillance operation against targets suspected of involvement in illegal trafficking in controlled drugs in the Inverness area.

• Inverness police thwart trio 'involved in a crime group who brought large amounts of cannabis and cocaine to the north'

Serafin Gaik (30) was found guilty of being concerned in the supply of the Class B drug between August 26, 2020 and August 19, 2021, following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.

A judge rejected a defence plea to continue his bail ahead of sentencing for the offence next month.

Lady Poole told him: "By virtue of the verdict of the jury you have been convicted of a serious charge of being concerned in the supply of controlled drugs."

She told the first offender that she would adjourn sentence for the preparation of a background report on him but he would be remanded in custody.

The Polish national was previously released on bail with a special condition that he surrender his passport after an initial court appearance in 2021.

Defence counsel Frances Connor had acknowledged that following the conviction, custody would be "a very obvious outcome" but asked that his bail be continued.

She said: "He has a business that will require a number of steps being taken to wind that down before sentencing."

Gaik, formerly of Academy Street, Inverness, had denied being involved in trafficking in cannabis at addresses in the city.

He also denied a further charge of being concerned in the supply of the Class A drug cocaine between August 26 and December 5 in 2020 in Inverness and was acquitted of that on a not proven verdict.

Two former co-accused pleaded guilty to drugs offences during the trial.

Pawel Chmielewski (34), of St Fergus Drive, Inverness, admitted that on January 14 in 2021 he was concerned in the supply of cannabis at a lay-by off the A9 road at Moy and elsewhere.

Logan MacLeod (21), of Suilven Way, Inverness, admitted that he was concerned in the supply of the Class B drug at city addresses between November 24, 2020 and January 22, 2021.

Chmielewski was driving a lorry that police stopped on the A9. He was asked if there was anything they should be aware of in the vehicle and replied: "In the cab."

Officers recovered vacuum bags of herbal cannabis from the vehicle and Chmielewski said: "What can I say? I just transport it."

During the anti-drugs operation, named Operation Bearskin, officers also forced entry to a locked garden shed at an address in Inverness, and were met with "an overwhelming smell of cannabis".

Jurors were shown photos of the interior of the shed with boxes, bags and a suitcase all containing quantities of the drug. Tick lists for drug deals were also recovered. High purity cocaine worth nearly £30,000 was also discovered during searches.

MacLeod was said to have been involved in the trafficking of cannabis by collecting and dropping off bags of the drug.

Advocate depute Leanne McQuillan said that Gaik's fingerprints were found on bank notes in a £1000 haul recovered by police and added jurors could draw the inference that was money paid by him for the use of the shed where cannabis was found.

Cash was also recovered from under the seat of a van linked to him and he went to a multi-storey car park in the city where MacLeod had also attended before the latter was stopped with cannabis in a carrier bag.

The cannabis discovered in the shed was assessed as being worth up to £351,000 and that found in the lorry could have fetched more than £162,000 on the streets.

Sentence was earlier deferred on MacLeod and Chmielewski until next month. The Crown indicated that it would seek to clawback crime profits from Gaik.