Morag Yorston, the Dundee grandmother convicted of running a heroin empire, has been sentenced to five years and 11 months in prison after she was extradited from Bulgaria. Yorston, who was 55 when she admitted her role in drug supply and distribution in Dundee in 2019, had fled Scotland to avoid sentencing.
How the investigation unfolded
Yorston first came to police attention in 2018 during Operation Boost, a joint drug enforcement investigation led by Police Scotland and the Organised Crime Unit targeting Class A drug crime in Tayside. Raids on her West End apartment and a property on Balunie Drive provided evidence against her.
She admitted her involvement in the supply and distribution of drugs in Dundee in 2019. However, she failed to appear at her sentencing hearing at the High Court in Glasgow in September 2019, going on the run with her Bulgarian boyfriend, Daniel Nenchev, who was several years her junior.
Escape and extradition
Police found no evidence that Nenchev was involved in Yorston's criminal enterprise. The pair hid in Bulgaria for months. Police tracked her down, but because she had left the country, they had to apply for a European Arrest Warrant, which was executed by Bulgarian police in March 2020.
Amid Covid-19 lockdowns, the extradition process took four more months, and she was returned to Scotland on July 2, 2020. She appeared at the High Court in Glasgow nearly a year after her original sentencing date.
Operation Boost results
Yorston was one of 17 people arrested during the police operation into the supply of Class A controlled drugs by organised criminals in Dundee. Between July and October 2018, officers seized approximately 6 kilograms of heroin and a kilogram of cocaine, with a combined street value of over £380,000, as well as £12,000 in cash.
Detective Chief Inspector Scott Fotheringham welcomed the judge's decision, saying: "Operation Boost was a complex and protracted investigation which identified Yorston of playing a significant role in an organised crime group intent in bringing misery to our communities."
Chief Inspector David McIntosh, Area Commander for Tayside Division, added: "The success of Operation Boost and the sentencing of Yorston shows our unwavering commitment to targeting serious organised criminals in Tayside and disrupting their activities, to protect the most vulnerable people in our communities."
