Morag Yorston, a Dundee grandmother, ran a secret heroin empire from her home, leading to a £100,000 drug haul and a five-year prison sentence. Her operation, uncovered by Police Scotland's Operation Boost, resulted in a confiscation order to recover her ill-gotten gains.
The Rise of a Gangster Gran
Yorston became infamous in 2019 when she was convicted of running a heroin empire from her home in Dundee. Police Scotland managed to snare her as part of Operation Boost, a joint drug enforcement investigation led by Police Scotland and the Organised Crime Unit to tackle Class A drug crime in Tayside.
She orchestrated her crime network from an unsuspecting home on Balunie Drive in the Douglas and Angus area of Dundee, right under the noses of Police Scotland, whose Baluniefield Training and Traffic Block was located on the same street. Her drug dealing included heroin and cocaine, earning thousands in ill-gotten gains while heaping misery on the city. She kept some of that cash in her plush Dundee West End apartment on Clayhills Drive.
Operation Boost Unravels the Scheme
In 2018, the operation began to focus on Yorston. Police believed she could be the kingpin of a major organised crime scheme in Dundee and targeted the property on Balunie Drive. They raided the home and discovered a massive haul of heroin worth £100,000. Officers also seized more than £100,000 of Yorston's ill-gotten gains as they brought her criminal enterprise crashing down.
Between July and October 2018, Operation Boost saw officers seize approximately six kilograms of heroin and one kilogram of cocaine, with a combined street value of over £380,000, as well as £12,000 in cash. It led to 17 arrests, including the gangster gran.
Sentencing and Financial Recovery
Then aged 55, Yorston admitted her part in the supply and distribution of drugs in Dundee. In 2020, she was locked up by a judge for five years and 11 months. After the unemployed drugs kingpin was jailed, Crown Office forensic accountants set about analysing her finances to see what she had earned legitimately and what she had made through crime.
During the investigation, police managed to recover £1,605 from Yorston, which was discovered in a safe at her West End apartment. But her ill-gotten gains were far higher, totalling £108,105 during her time as drug lord. As a result of the investigations, police had the outstanding amount in their custody and, in 2021, a confiscation order was made by the courts to ensure she wouldn't be able to spend a penny of it.
