COMMUNITY FACED FEARS TO PUT DRUG CRIMINALS BEHIND BARS

Police Thank Public For Coming Forward With Information

A senior police officer has praised local people who helped smash a
ruthless gang which spread drugs and fear throughout Moray.

Superintendent Alan Smailes, the Grampian force's local commander,
said William Kelbie, Donald Stewart, Owen Gorman and Stephen Johnston
were racketeers who brought "misery" to the community.

Their highly-organised criminal network was believed to have been the
"number one" drugs operation in the north-east.

The four men were jailed yesterday as a result of Operation Centaur, a
year-long operation which culminated in nearly 100 police officers -
many wearing riot gear - swooping on a "fortress" travellers' site
near Elgin.

The camp was later bulldozed by Moray Council.

Supt Smailes said that although the gang brought fear and intimidation
to the local community, several people still made valuable
contributions to the investigation.

"I would like to thank the public who did come forward to provide
intelligence and evidence which led to these convictions," he said.

"The fear, blight and misery caused by their racketeering and drug
dealing affected not just the people of Elgin but the wider Moray
community."

There are fears that the gang's removal will lead to other criminals
moving in - but Supt Smailes pledged that police are working to
prevent that.

He added: "If the public have any concerns that others might be trying
to follow in their footsteps, we would urge them to contact us and we
will take action."

Operation Centaur involved intensive intelligence-gathering and
24-hour surveillance of the Chanonry caravan site by a partnership of
Grampian Police, the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency and
the Scottish Police Services Authority.

Police started to close in on the gang after Derek Dackers, was
arrested in January for his role as a courier delivering drugs from
the central belt.

He was later jailed for four years for transporting ?430,000 of
cocaine and ?40,000 of amphetamine.

Detective Inspector Malcolm MacLeod, head of the Grampian Police drugs
squad, said: "This was a huge investigation and involved every aspect
of policing.

"In the Grampian region at that time I would say they were the number
one drug dealing group."

Councillor Eric McGillivray, chairman of Moray Council's communities
committee, which has responsibility for community safety, said:
"Everyone will be relieved that a line can finally be drawn under this
episode and that the people who used the travellers' site as a den for
their illegal activities have been brought to justice.

"We acted quickly to clear the site once it became apparent that it
was being used for these purposes.

"The whole operation has been an excellent example of partnership
working for the benefit of the local community."