Two runaway gangsters fled Scotland using a passport scam where they assumed the identities of alcohol and drug addicts, it has been claimed in court.
It was claimed Hughes used a phoney passport to evade capture in 2018 by providing an alias to officers, after being arrested over a fight in a Portuguese kebab shop.Gillespie, along with his brother and fellow drug kingpin James, are believed to have been executed by cartel bosses while hiding out in Brazil.
The gang who allegedly furnished them with passports are claimed to have built up links with an array of Scots underworld figures. Mr Nicholson said Beard had already pleaded guilty to conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and conspiracy to make a false instrument. He said the gang obtained Latvian passports, using the same method as with the UK passports, for Hughes and Barry Gillespie. It is further claimed the gang first obtained a UK FOG passport for Hughes in the name of Samuel May, he added.