An enforcer, Stephen Lowell, 33, has been sentenced to a year in prison for extorting £2,000 from a man and two women in East Kilbride. The threat included burning down their property if the cash was not handed over as warned by Lowell. Acting alongside another individual, he intimidated the trio in Maple Terrace and The Murray Square back in October of the previous year.
Hamilton Sheriff Court accepted Lowell’s guilty plea for menacing the victims but dropped charges related to drug supply. The Crown also abandoned a charge against Lowell, Kimberley Whitelaw, 37, of Douglas Crescent, Hamilton, and Nicola Keenan, 38, of Clyde Place, Cambuslang, regarding heroin distribution. Keenan, however, admitted to involvement in the supply of Class C drug bromazolam in East Kilbride last year.
The sentencing for Keenan has been postponed for further assessments. Lowell’s plea for not guilty to drug supply charges were taken into account. The incident sheds light on criminal activities affecting the community and emphasizes the importance of effective law enforcement in East Kilbride.
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