FUGITIVE DRUG LORD CAGED FOR 11 YEARS

Gangster Earle jailed after he flooded Scotland with cocaine and heroin then fled country

- RUTH SUTER

A FUGITIVE gangster who helped to flood the streets of Scotland with cocaine and heroin has been jailed.

Stephen Earle, 52, was extradited from Portugal after police were tipped off by the National Crime Agency (NCA) earlier this year. He was arrested by the Polícia Judiciária fugitive team in Faro and returned to the UK to stand trial.

Appearing in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court in April, he pleaded guilty to four drugs supply charges.

Earle, from Liverpool, is the latest gang member to be jailed as part of an operation that saw at least 10 kilos of heroin and seven kilos of cocaine shipped from England to Scotland.