The owner of a kitchen fitting firm claimed he turned to drug trafficking in a bid to keep his ailing business afloat.

Peter McLaren was linked to consignments of cocaine in Glasgow and cannabis in Ullapool, Highlands, worth about £250,000 on the streets.

McLaren, 48, found his business interests in difficulty and turned to crime, the High Court in Edinburgh heard.

On Wednesday, he was jailed for six years after being caught by a major police surveillance operation targeting organised crime in Scotland.

Judge Lord Woolman told him: "I must, in arriving at a sentence, have regard to the misery the drugs trade causes. You took a risk in becoming involved in this enterprise - a big risk."

"You had an important role in the drugs distribution chain. You were not a street dealer. You did not handle the drugs yourself, instead you directed the couriers.

"You committed these offences to gain financial reward.

Lord Woolman said in determining the degree of harm caused by his offending he took account of the weight of the drugs involved rather than the value.

The half kilo of cocaine seized by police in Glasgow was of high purity and had the potential to be cut with adulterants to produce seven times that amount on the streets.

A total of 19kg of cannabis resin was found when officers intercepted a courier in Ullapool which was due to be transported to the Isle of Lewis.

Lord Woolman said: "The police set up an investigation into an organised drugs ring in Scotland. They named it Operation Numerical.

"They carried out surveillance on various individuals. Intelligence from that operation led to two significant drugs finds."

The judge added: "The police were able to link you to the drugs couriers in question."

Dozens of replica football tops were also recovered during a raid on McLaren's home on Foresthall Drive in Springburn, Glasgow.

McLaren had earlier denied a string of drugs related charges but his trial was brought to an end after he admitted two drugs offences.

He pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine between March 1 and March 29, 2014, at locations in Glasgow, including his home address.

He also admitted being concerned in the supply of cannabis resin at his home in Bishopbriggs and in Ullapool in the Highlands between July 21 and August 21 in 2014.

The court heard McLaren was the subject of extensive covert surveillance by detectives during Operation Numerical.

He visited various golf clubs and was regularly seen driving a blue Mercedes. During one stop he was found to have almost £15,000 in cash in a golf bag.

One officer told the court he had seen McLaren at the Dakota Hotel at South Queensferry, Edinburgh, in the company of "a number of smartly dressed, businessmen-type males".

McLaren later settled a bill at the venue and was seen to be in possession of a large bundle of cash.

The Crown accepted his not guilty pleas to further charges including directing serious organised crime and being concerned in the supply of heroin over a six-year period up to last year.

Defence counsel Ian Duguid QC said McLaren had been a cocaine user for a number of years and had "a point of contact" he could use to obtain quantities of illegal drugs.

He said it was "an act of complete stupidity" by McLaren to become involved in the drugs trade in an effort to keep a business alive.

The defence counsel said his kitchen firm, which employed 20 people, was in the process of going into liquidation.

Mr Duguid said: "He bitterly regrets placing himself in the situation which he finds himself in."

McLaren is now the subject of confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Detective chief inspector Kenny Gray from the East Organised Crime and Counter Terrorism Unit said: "This man played a key role in the distribution of harmful drugs throughout the West and North of Scotland, and he now faces a lengthy prison service.

"This type of criminality will not be tolerated and his sentence should send a clear message to those involved in serious and organised crime that we will actively pursue them, and work closely with our partners at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service to stop them benefiting from their criminal activity."