Gang member jailed for plotting to kill drugs boss

A crime gang member who plotted to kill a drugs boss has been jailed for six years and nine months.

Anthony Connell was involved in a plan to kill Ryan Carvil but the assassination attempt failed when a potential hitman pulled out at the last minute.

A judge told the High Court in Glasgow that Connell, who then fled to Spain, was involved in a "significant organised crime operation".

The 35-year-old and his associates were caught after incriminating messages on the encrypted EncroChat phone network linked them to the crime.

The court heard Connell, of Govan, had been a trusted lieutenant for crime boss David Nisbet, 35, who wanted to kill Carvil.

And prosecutors said the gang "sought to turn the streets of Glasgow into a warzone" in a bid to catch their target.

Connell used the handles "Roughdingo" and then "Las Penguin" on EncroChat, where he discussed the plan for Carvil.

In one message he wrote: "Jump out, nut him quickly, tie weights to his ankles and roll him in at canal. That's a missing person, not a murder.

"No car to look for nothing you've got two weeks before they probably look in that water."

But the court heard the plot faltered when the hitman "did not like the getaway cars or arrangements on offer".

Connell then went missing while facing charges before being arrested in Marbella, Spain in 2023 following a large scale manhunt.

He was extradited back to Scotland last year to face justice.

Connell was sentenced after he admitted a charge of being involved in serious organised crime between April 2019 and May 2020.

Thomas Ross KC, representing Connell, said: "He has broke off from the people he was involved with an has expressed regret regarding his involvement.

"He has not only done this verbally but he is fully committed to changing his lifestyle."

Lord Scott said: "A custodial sentence is appropriate to deter you and others from behaving in this way."

A three-year serious crime prevention order was also put upon Connell.

Nisbet and fellow gang member Declan McCuish were convicted of conspiring to murder Carvil after a trial in February 2025.

Nisbet was jailed for 13 years and McCuish for 11 years.

Meanwhile, Carvil is awaiting sentencing after detectives uncovered his role in a food-delivery style drugs operation.

The 32-year-old - who travelled between Scotland and Dubai - had teamed up with Saad Qayyum, 36, to supply Glasgow with drugs.

Both pleaded guilty to an organised crime charge earlier this year.