Scots cocaine kingpins who duped Motherwell FC jailed over £12m drug ring

Two flash Scots gangsters who duped Motherwell FC into thinking they were legitimate businessmen have been jailed over their £12m drug ring.

Supercar flaunting David Stephen and Shaun Paul Brown were caged for six years and eight months today, Wednesday, May 6, 2026.

The 30-year-olds, who sponsored Motherwell with their DX Home Improvements company, ran the business from a premises in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire.

But the company was a front for their drug smuggling business, which saw them buying, storing and selling cocaine worth £12million.

The pair, both of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, used their ill-gotten gains to splash out on supercars with personal registrations and dubbed themselves 'The Lambros'.

But their empire came crashing down when were snared in Stephen's £200,000 Lamborghini Urus after he had returned to Scotland from Dubai in December.

They admitted their guilt previously and returned to the dock at the High Court in Glasgow today to be sentenced.

They had admitted directing others to commit a serious offence, with their offending taking place between March and June 2020 and August and December 2025.

Their convictions came after an extensive probe by officers the National Crime Agency and foreign cops.

The investigation formed part of Operation Venetic, the Europe-wide operation targeting organised crime groups using encrypted mobile phones.

Police Scotland Detective Inspector Gary Semple hailed their sentences this afternoon after they were caged.

He said: "This case is a further outcome of the interrogation of EncroChat data by officers dedicated to identifying and disrupting organised crime groups operating in Scotland.

“Analysis of this data remains a priority and we will continue to use all available tools and intelligence to identify those responsible and bring them to justice.

“We are continuing to interrogate data as part of Operation Venetic and working with partners across Scotland, the UK and internationally to identify those involved in serious organised crime.

“Those involved in this type of criminality should be aware that they cannot hide behind encrypted platforms to evade detection and our ability to detect and investigate this type of offending will only advance further.

"Serious and organised crime causes significant harm to our communities and this work is a priority as part of the wider approach to tackling it through the Serious and Organised Crime Taskforce."

Prosecutor Sineidin Corrins, of COPFS, said: "David Stephen and Shaun Brown boasted online of wealth that had been accumulated through criminal activity.

"But they have now been brought fully to account for their crimes.

"This was a coordinated effort to facilitate the movement of significant quantities of illegal and harmful drugs through Scotland.

"These two men are now serving prison sentences thanks to an extensive police operation, working with COPFS, to investigate a network of drug supply.

"We are targeting all people who threaten communities across Scotland, not only drug couriers but also those who direct their movements.

"With each case of this kind we can help reduce the harm these drugs inflict on those communities."