THE final member of an organised crime gang that involved a man from Dumbarton has been jailed.

Stanley Feerick has been sentenced to eight and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs and participating in the activities of an organised crime group.

The 68-year-old from Liverpool was part of a group that ran an amphetamine factory in Scotland and trafficked heroin and cocaine across the UK.

We previously reported that Stephen King, 49, from Dumbarton, was handed an 18-month prison sentence for his involvement in the group.

King was convicted of participating in the activities of the group contrary to the Serious Crime Act 2015.

Based in Merseyside and run by Terence Earle, 49, the group involved King, Feerick, and Stephen Singleton, 36, and Lee Baxter, 48, both from Liverpool.

Dumbarton and Vale of Leven Reporter: Terrence Earle, Stephen Singleton, Lee Baxter Stephen KingTerrence Earle, Stephen Singleton, Lee Baxter Stephen King (Image: Supplied)

Feerick was arrested in November 2020 after being stopped while driving a truck containing 2.9 kilos of heroin, worth £300,000, and tens of thousands of pounds in cash.

The following month, more than 560 kilos of alpha-phenylacetoacetamide (APAA), a substance used in the production of amphetamine, was found in a lorry that National Crime Agency (NCA) investigators discovered had been loaded on the orders of Feerick.

The amount of APAA found could have produced amphetamine worth around £1.1m.

Dumbarton and Vale of Leven Reporter: The members of the crime group were all arrested in March 2021 by the NCAThe members of the crime group were all arrested in March 2021 by the NCA (Image: Supplied)

While a search of his home led to the recovery of another £9,370 in cash.

The sentencing of Feerick on Thursday, June 1 took place at Liverpool Crown Court.

NCA Branch Commander Richie Davies said: “The sentencing marks the complete dismantling of a crime group that operated from the north of England to Scotland and sought to make huge profits from a trade that fuels violence and exploitation.

“The NCA continued to work to protect the public from the highest risk criminals impacting on the UK.”

The NCA’s investigation into the group formed part of Operation Venetic, the UK NCA-led law enforcement response to the takedown of the EncroChat service in July 2020.