Dark web MDMA dealer caught in UK’s largest ever residential drugs raid

A man has pleaded guilty to a series of drug charges after police found £2.3 million worth of drugs at his flat – the largest ever seizure of MDMA and crystal meth from a British home.

Routine checks by Border Force on postal items, addressed to Patrick Scotland, arriving in the UK found MDMA contained within children’s toys.

Council staff who carried out a routine gas safety check at Scotland’s address in White City, London, tipped off police about a large amount of suspected Class A drugs in the home.

Officers searched the property and found sealed bags and containers containing several kilos of crystal meth, MDMA and cocaine, as well as eight kilos of cannabis resin, more than 10,000 LSD tabs and drug paraphernalia.

Scotland was arrested and a further search found more drugs concealed under a sofa and a laptop.

The combined value of the drugs is estimated at £2.3 million, which would make it the biggest known seizure of MDMA and crystal meth from a UK residential address.

In court, Scotland pleaded guilty to three counts of possession with intent to supply a Class A drug, two counts of possession with intent to supply a Class B drug, being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of a Class A drug and possession of a weapon for the discharge of a noxious liquid, gas or electrical incapacitation device.

Police said in a statement: “It also appears to be the first seizure of its kind in regards to the dismantling of a dark web drugs site in the UK.

“Scotland was linked to the site post-arrest and the drugs advertised were identified as the same as those recovered from his address.”

He was due to be sentenced today.

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

“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. The Met will continue to proactively target those involved in this kind of activity, with the aim of removing such individuals from our streets and systematically disrupting the supply of drugs in our local communities.”