Three people have been charged almost a year after Police Scotland uncovered what was described as the UK’s first known nitazene laboratory in Ayrshire.
The site was based in Patna, although its exact location was not disclosed when the discovery was first discussed publicly. The laboratory was reportedly producing synthetic opioids described as potentially deadly.
Two men and a woman were arrested and charged in connection with the discovery last month, according to the report. Police Scotland said the arrests related to serious organised crime, while a separate charge involved money laundering and fraud.
Three people appear at Ayr Sheriff Court
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: A 29-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman have been arrested and charged in connection with offences in relation to serious organised crime.
The spokesperson added: A 34-year-old man who was also involved has been arrested and charged in connection with money laundering and fraud offences. Reports have been submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.
Lewis Reid, aged 29, appeared on petition at Ayr Sheriff Court on August 19. He was initially remanded in custody, then fully committed on August 27 and bailed for further examination.
Erin Sanderson, aged 23, appeared on petition on August 14 and was bailed. Brian Morton, aged 34, appeared on petition on August 20 and was also bailed.
The source report does not state the year for those court appearances. All three cases remain subject to the court process.
What was found in Ayrshire
The discovery was first reported in September 2025, when the drug laboratory was described as the first known nitazene lab in the UK. At the time, Deputy Chief Constable Jane Connors told a Scottish Parliament oversight board that she could not reveal the exact location.
Speaking in Holyrood, Deputy Chief Constable Connors said: We actually had a nitazene lab in Ayrshire that policing found and it is the first one in the UK.
She said police believed removing presses and tablets from circulation may have contributed to a reduction in benzodiazepine deaths or incidents, stating: We believe that having taken some of those presses and the pills off the market may well have contributed to a 41 per cent reduction in benzodiazepine, which is another type of drug that we’re focusing on.
She also warned about the wider impact of synthetic drugs and organised production, saying: The harm that drugs cause in our communities is absolutely huge.
She added: Some of the successes we have had are with serious and organised crime gangs that are using pill presses to produce tens of thousands of tablets.
On the potency of the substances involved, she said: We have seen nitazenes and the potency of some of the chemicals that are used and we have talked before about the drug deaths that are linked to it.
Drug death figures
Police Scotland later said there were 898 suspected drug deaths across Scotland between January and September last year, an eight per cent increase on the previous year. Ayrshire recorded the country’s second-highest drug death rate during that period, with 98 deaths.
The latest drug death figures were expected to be published this week. A five-week series by Ayrshire Weekly Press also examined the reported effects of nitazenes and similar synthetic drugs on communities, including evidence linking the substances to a number of later deaths in Ayrshire over recent years.
