“You were head of an organised crime group, and were involved over a period of over three years”
Conor McGregor (32) was involved in the receipt and distribution of drugs including cocaine, heroin and cannabis, and the collection of payments from May 2019 to July 2022.
He used encrypted messages to organise the storage, movement, sale and supply of drugs. He also made use of a number of vehicles and properties to store and conceal drugs and money.
McGregor fled to Morocco
News in 90 Seconds – September 5th 2025
He was returned to Scotland in January of this year to face justice, having been arrested in Morocco in July 2024.
McGregor pleaded guilty to involvement in serious organised crime at the High Court in Glasgow on July 15.
It has been reported how McGregor was tracked down after the Encrochat messaging platform he had been using was cracked by European law enforcement agencies.
During sentencing at the High Court in Edinburgh on Thursday, judge Lady Drummond told him: “You were head of an organised crime group, and were involved over a period of over three years.
“You were responsible for overseeing the supply of class A and class B drugs.”
Outlining his responsibilities, she said he had received drugs, engaged others to take payments, and arranged the collection and distribution of drugs.
Having “generated significant quantities of money” Lady Drummond said his offending was “at the upper end of the scale given the amount of drugs involved, and the period of time and the geographical location”.
His six-year prison sentence has been backdated to July 19, 2024, when he was first arrested and detained in Morocco.
McGregor, who attended the hearing remotely from prison, showed no emotion as the sentence was handed down, according to MailOnline.
McGregor’s lawyer told the court his client had a “high level of shame” for his actions which he took full responsibility for.
Brian McConnachie KC said McGregor realised the impact, “not just on his own family but on other people who were to all intents and purposes unknown to him”.
“He acknowledges the harm he could well be responsible for by virtue of his involvement in drugs,” McConnachie said.
He added that matters had ultimately spiralled “out of control” after McGregor first became involved in criminality at a “low level” at the age of 23.