A DRUG gang "manager" from Old Kilpatrick was caught during a £900,000 cocaine raid, a court has heard.

Garry Jordan, 35, was snared driving near Aviemore in the Highlands - around 150 miles away from his home.

Jordan was in the Vauxhall Corsa with 34-year-old passenger Steven McCallum on May 29 2020.

Police went on to discover a number of blocks of high-purity cocaine in the vehicle.

A judge at the High Court in Glasgow heard how Jordan's level of involvement was concluded after the smashing of the once top secret Encrochat phone network favoured by criminals.

Jordan pleaded guilty on Thursday, August 18 to being concerned in the supply of cocaine between March 27, 2020 and May 29, 2020.

McCallum, of Linwood, Renfrewshire, admitted the same charge, but only to being involved on the day of the raid.

Both had been on bail, but were remanded in custody by judge Lord Arthurson.

They will return to the dock next month.

Prosecutor Blair Speed told how the Corsa was stopped on the A95 between Aviemore and Carrbridge.

A holdall was found in the boot and had packages inside of what appeared to be drugs.

Mr Speed told the High Court in Glasgow that the blocks of cocaine seized had a purity as high as 76 per cent.

The total potential value of the haul was around £889,000.

Police also found what they suspected to be an Encrochat phone, which was broken.

Mr Speed: "Between March 27, 2020 and May 7, 2020, Jordan can be shown to have utilised Encrochat in his involvement in cocaine supply.

"The Encrochat messages...placed him in a logistics role at a mid level in the hierarchy of the organised crime group.

"He was described in one message as being a 'manager'."

The Encrochat network was dismantled by the French authorities in 2020 sparking a series of prosecutions in the UK and abroad.

Lord Arthurson deferred sentence for reports until next month, when the pair will appear at the High Court in Edinburgh.