On-the-run drugs factory man James Miller jailed
A man who fled Scotland after being caught operating a £250,000 amphetamine factory has been jailed for five years.
James Miller, 30, was convicted of being concerned in the supply of the drug but did not show up for sentencing at the High Court in Dumbarton in 2011.
His accomplices, Stuart Campbell and John Harvey, each received jail terms of three years and nine months.
Miller was arrested on the Spanish island of Tenerife last year and brought back to Scotland in December.
Jailing him at the High Court in Glasgow, temporary judge Sean Murphy QC told Miller: "You evaded justice in Scotland in 2011, but it seems you have kept out of trouble and started a new life."
The court heard that in 2010, police set up a surveillance operation on a flat belonging to Miller's family in Dumbarton.
Officers found mixing agents, plastic bags and latex gloves alongside the drugs haul.
Miller denied that he was involved in the drugs factory but was convicted on 1 September 2010.
Miller, from Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire, fled the country before he was sentenced but was detained in Tenerife and brought back to Scotland following an international police operation.
The court heard that when Miller was caught on the Spanish island, he was in a relationship and had a child.
His defence counsel John McElroy told the court that Miller fled because he feared for his safety.
Mr McElroy said: "As a result of threats made by someone steeped in criminality he decided not to turn up for sentencing."
He added that Miller has recently received a letter warning him that he could be targeted in prison as "there is an individual in jail in Scotland who is anxious to have games with him".