Four members of a Scottish organised crime gang have been jailed for almost 20 years at the High Court in Glasgow, after encrypted phone messages exposed their drug dealing, firearms and conspiracy to commit violence.

Jason Smith, 37, Calum Simpson, 39, David Simpson, 39, and James Lowrie, 39, were sentenced on Tuesday, 10 November 2026, following guilty pleas to involvement in serious and organised crime. Between them they received 19 years and four months in prison, and all four were also given Serious Crime Prevention Orders.

What each man received

Smith was jailed for six years and nine months and will spend three years on licence after his release. Calum Simpson, described in court as an operational member of the gang, was jailed for seven years and seven months.

David Simpson was jailed for two years and nine months after admitting a firearms offence as well as involvement in serious and organised crime. James Lowrie was jailed for two years and three months. The court heard Lowrie helped collect criminal cash and had complained about how long it took to count the money the gang was making.

The gang leader still to be sentenced

A fifth man, George Baigrie, 43, had earlier pleaded guilty to involvement in serious and organised crime and conspiracy, but his sentencing was adjourned until the New Year while further defence inquiries continue. Prosecutors have asked the court to consider a full risk assessment, which could eventually lead to an Order for Lifelong Restriction.

Baigrie is already serving 15 years imposed in February 2025 for trying to kill the brother of Edinburgh gangster Mark Richardson. He was named during the 2021 trial of Sean Orman, who was jailed for life for murdering former boxer and Trainspotting 2 actor Bradley Welsh outside his Edinburgh home in 2019. A witness told detectives Baigrie had paid Orman £10,000 to carry out the killing, but Baigrie has never been charged with or convicted of that crime.

EncroChat messages exposed the gang

The offences took place between March and June 2020. The gang communicated through EncroChat, the encrypted messaging service used almost exclusively by criminals, until French authorities cracked the network and police across Europe were able to read the messages. The case formed part of Operation Venetic, the Europe-wide operation to dismantle crime groups using encrypted devices.

Prosecutor Leanne Cross KC told the court the messages showed a constant trade in sourcing, adulterating and supplying drugs, with hundreds of thousands of pounds of narcotics and cash being moved. The messages discussed a £1.3 million drugs debt and 62 kilograms of cocaine, valued at up to £48,000 a kilo, as well as large pick-ups in Glasgow and Liverpool.

The court also heard that Baigrie, Smith and Calum Simpson plotted in early April 2020 to shoot a man they accused of badmouthing them, discussing forensic suits, cloned number plates and the time it would take police to respond. No attack on that man was ever recorded.

But on 21 April 2020 a 29-year-old man was ambushed in the grounds of Musselburgh Rugby Club in East Lothian, where two men in surgical masks slashed him across the neck. The victim survived. Messages later showed Simpson confirming the man was “done” and Baigrie telling an associate to “burn the clothes”. The gang also discussed a machete attack on a man who apparently owed £4,500, and David Simpson boasted of having a Skorpion machine gun available for £10,000.

Police welcome the sentences

Detective Inspector Mark Fyfe, of Police Scotland’s Organised Crime and Counter Terrorism Unit, said: “I hope these sentences send a clear message — those involved in serious and organised crime will not get away with it.”

He said the sentences were the result of extensive investigatory work over a number of years, including analysis of digital devices, and urged anyone with concerns about serious and organised crime to contact police or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Edinburgh Live and The Scottish Sun reported the sentencing.