Two men jailed for opium supply

Abed and Abedi could face deportation

Two men have been sentenced to nine years in jail for handling Scotland's biggest ever opium haul.

Ali Abed, 34, and Fatholla Abedi, 40, were caught when £54,000 worth of the drug was uncovered at an English airport en route to Aberdeen.

The pair were found guilty at the city's sheriff court three weeks ago of being concerned in the supply of opium.

Sheriff Alexander Jessop jailed Abed for five years and Abedi for four. The two men could still face deportation.

More than 5kg of the drug was recovered in an operation involving the Scottish Drugs Enforcement Agency and Grampian Police.

The opium was discovered by a suspicious customs officer at East Midlands Airport in August last year.

The opium was concealed in a steel cylinder

The drug was delivered hidden inside a steel cylinder machine tool from Istanbul to the pizza business they ran in Aberdeen.

Police arranged for its delivery and Abed signed for it.

The two Middle Eastern men had both denied smuggling and being concerned in the supply of the class A earlier this month but the jury found them guilty.

The court heard some people from the Far East or Middle East communities consume opium as people in this country consume tea or coffee.

Relatives of the accused were in court, and one elderly woman was led wailing and shrieking from the courtroom after the verdicts were announced.

Seizures of opium, which can be smoked in its raw state or processed to produce heroin, are relatively rare.