Former market trader hired as a ‘surveillance expert’ to protect gangsters from the police

A former market trader turned ‘surveillance expert’ hired by criminals who feared they were being spied on has been given an extra two years in prison.

Ian Sweeney was recruited to try to keep the gangsters one step ahead of the law.

The 53-year-old, who had been director of a private investigation firm, used the handle ‘bug-sweep’ on the EncroChat telephone network, once favored by crime gangs.

He charged thousands of pounds to provide equipment and advice on sweeping properties and cars for listening devices.

A judge heard how Sweeney was also the ‘middleman’ in the lucrative drug trade.

Former Barras street trader Sweeney was back in the dock at the High Court in Glasgow to be sentenced.

He previously pleaded guilty to involvement in serious organized crime between March and May 2020.

Sweeney is already serving a five-year prison sentence after being convicted by the same court in 2023 for his role in a large-scale drug trafficking ring.

Judge Lord Colbeck increased his current prison sentence by a further two years, to run consecutively to his current sentence.

He said: “You dealt with Class A and B drugs and provided services for money in furtherance of serious organized crime.

“You understand that it is a very serious crime.

“There is no other outcome than a custodial sentence to protect the public and to highlight society’s disapproval of your offending behaviour.”

Prosecutor Margaret Barron said Sweeney “developed a reputation within criminal circles” for being able to obtain information about certain individuals, including tracing where they could be found.

He had regular contact with colleagues via EncroChat.

This included providing advice and “anti-surveillance measures” to avoid detection by police.

He could also help modify vehicles to build “stash” areas, which gangsters often use to hide drugs or dirty money.

Ms Barron said: “He told (an employee) that although he was based in Scotland, he traveled all over the UK to carry out his activities.

“The records showed that Sweeney was specifically told that the reason he was being asked to obtain information was for a criminal purpose.”

The court was given examples of some of his exchanges on EncroChat, which were arrested by French and Dutch justice.

In one, he proposed a sum of £1,500 for a ‘bug sweep’ of a house or office in a European country.

Sweeney stated that he worked for a “professional counter-surveillance and intelligence firm” and worked “all over the world” for banks and energy companies.

An employee – believed to be based in London – later contacted him saying he wanted to have two or three cars checked for ‘scanners and bugs’ as soon as possible.

This person said: “Friends found a tracker on his motorcycle.”

When shown a photo of the device, Sweeney responded, “They’re not buyers, buddy. It’s a cheap eBay version.’

The employee added: “Yes rats.”

Ms Barron said Sweeney was also involved in trafficking cocaine and cannabis across Scotland.

The lawyer’s deputy said: “He primarily extracted drugs from one (EncroChat) handle before supplying them to another.”

This included 5 kg of cocaine. He was also in contact with another person who wanted to transport a large shipment of cannabis.

Thomas Ross KC, defending, told the hearing that Sweeney had a long-standing interest in ‘technology’ and was ‘completely self-taught’.

This meant that he initially did legitimate work, but eventually word spread that his skills could be used by criminals.

The lawyer added: “The offenses he is most ashamed of are his involvement with drugs.”

Mr Ross said Sweeney had never dealt in narcotics and had been a “middleman…who got a commission”.

Sweeney was jailed in March 2023 after working with drug boss James Paterson.

He helped Paterson, 35, track down someone who owed him money.

Sweeney also passed orders to another individual as part of Paterson’s large-scale drug trafficking operation.

As with the last crime, Sweeney was convicted of involvement in serious organized crime.

Paterson was jailed for 14 years for crimes including Class A drug trafficking and money laundering.

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