SENTENCING STATEMENTS

A judge may decide to publish a statement after passing sentence on an offender in cases where there is particular public interest; where a case has legal significance; or where providing the reasons for the decision might assist public understanding.

Please note that statements may include graphic details of offences when it is necessary to fully explain the reasons behind a sentencing decision.

Once charges are spent, any statement in relation to them is removed and cannot be provided or acknowledged. Statements published before the launch of the website may be available on request. Please email judicialcomms@scotcourts.gov.uk.

The independence of the judiciary is essential to safeguard people’s rights under law - enabling judges to make decisions impartially based solely on evidence and law, without interference or influence from the government or politicians.

When deciding a sentence, a judge must deal with the offence that the offender has been convicted of, taking into account the unique circumstances of each particular case. The judge will carefully consider the facts that are presented to the Court by both the prosecution and by the defence.

For more information about how judges decide sentences; what sentences are available; and matters such as temporary release, see the independent Scottish Sentencing Council website .

Read more about victims of crime and sentencing.

HMA v Anthony Carroll Senior, Anthony Carroll Junior, Ryan Carberry, Marc Cooper and Michael Monaghan

Oct 30, 2026

At the High Court in Glasgow, Lord Scott sentenced Anthony Carroll Senior 4 years 6 months imprisonment after the offender pled guilty to a single charge of directing others to commit money laundering. Lord Scott also imposed custodial sentences on Anthony Carroll Junior, Ryan Carberry, Marc Cooper and Michael Monaghan after they pled guilty to being involved in serious organised crime.

On sentencing Lord Scott made the following remarks in court:

"Anthony Carroll Senior, you have pled guilty to a single charge relating to directing others, including your 4 co-accused, to commit a serious offence namely, money laundering. The offence was committed over a period of 5 months from January to May 2020. It involved transferring, concealing, collecting and storing money which was the proceeds of drug dealing, in particular the 2 class A drugs, Cocaine and Diamorphine or heroin and the class B drug, Cannabis. You also instructed them to pay those involved in the supply of those drugs. This is a serious charge, carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years imprisonment. As it says in the report, it involved a “high level of effort, planning and deceit”. The narrative “suggests a leadership or organising role, rather than peripheral involvement”.

You are 57 years old and, at the time of the offence, you were 50. You have a single previous conviction for a minor road traffic matter. I treat you as a first offender.

Anthony Carroll Junior, you have pled guilty to a single charge relating to your involvement for 2 months in serious organised crime and agreeing with others to do various things you knew or suspected or ought reasonably to have known or suspected would enable or further the commission of serious organised crime. The indictment refers in particular to your role in arranging, at the direction of your father, for the transfer, concealment, collection and storage of money which was the proceeds of crime, and payment of that money to others, as well as using encrypted devices to communicate with others using Encrochat in order to conceal your identity, activities and evidence from law enforcement agencies. This is a serious charge too, although it carries a maximum sentence of 10 years as opposed to 14 years imprisonment.

You are 37 years old and, at the time of the offence, you were 31. You too have a single previous conviction for a minor road traffic matter. I treat you as a first offender.

Ryan Carberry, you have pled guilty to a single charge relating to your involvement for 3 and a half months in serious organised crime and agreeing with others to do various things you knew or suspected or ought reasonably to have known or suspected would enable or further the commission of serious organised crime. The indictment refers in particular to your role in arranging, at the direction of Anthony Carroll Senior, for the transfer, concealment, collection and storage of money which was the proceeds of crime, and payment of that money to others, as well as using encrypted devices to communicate with others using Encrochat in order to conceal your identity, activities and evidence from law enforcement agencies. You also undertook various tasks relating to the supply of controlled drugs and the collection, transportation, counting and storage of monies received from the sale of various controlled drugs, including the 2 class A drugs, Cocaine and Diamorphine (or heroin) and the class B drug, Cannabis. As with Anthony Carroll Junior, the maximum sentence is 10 years imprisonment.

You are 46 years old and, at the time of the offence, you were 40 and 41. You have 5 previous convictions, including, most significantly, another High Court conviction for being concerned in the supply of drugs for which you were sentenced to 30 months imprisonment in 2002. I note that the conviction is from 24 years ago but I must give it some weight. Your other convictions are for other offending and I give them little weight.

Marc Cooper you have pled guilty to a single charge relating to your involvement for 3 and a half months in serious organised crime and agreeing with others to do various things you knew or suspected or ought reasonably to have known or suspected would enable or further the commission of serious organised crime. The indictment refers in particular to your role in arranging, at the direction of Anthony Carroll Senior, for the transfer, concealment, collection and storage of money which was the proceeds of crime, and payment of that money to others, as well as using encrypted devices to communicate with others using Encrochat in order to conceal your identity, activities and evidence from law enforcement agencies. You also undertook various tasks relating to the supply of controlled drugs and the collection, transportation, counting and storage of monies received from the sale of various controlled drugs, including the 2 class A drugs, Cocaine and Diamorphine (or heroin) and the class B drug, Cannabis. As with Anthony Carroll Junior, the maximum sentence is 10 years imprisonment.

You are 34 years old and, at the time of the offence, you were 27 and 28. You have no previous convictions. Obviously, I treat you as a first offender.

Michael Monaghan, you have pled guilty to a single charge relating to your involvement for 2 months in serious organised crime and agreeing with others to do various things you knew or suspected or ought reasonably to have known or suspected would enable or further the commission of serious organised crime. The indictment refers in particular to your role in arranging, at the direction of Anthony Carroll Senior, for the transfer, concealment, collection and storage of money which was the proceeds of crime, and payment of that money to others, as well as using encrypted devices to communicate with others using Encrochat in order to conceal your identity, activities and evidence from law enforcement agencies. You also undertook various tasks relating to the supply of controlled drugs and the collection, transportation, counting and storage of monies received from the sale of various controlled drugs, including the 2 class A drugs, Cocaine and Diamorphine (or heroin) and the class B drug, Cannabis. As with Anthony Carroll Junior, the maximum sentence is 10 years imprisonment.

You are 37 years old and, at the time of the offence, you were 31. You have several previous convictions for a variety of different offences. None were for analogous offences and you have not previously been sentenced to detention or imprisonment. I give them little weight.

Put short, you took each part knowingly for a period of several months in a significant organised criminal operation which, based on the available snapshots of scale through quantity and value of drugs, clearly involved millions of pounds worth of drugs. Anthony Carroll Senior, your role was a key operational role with significant financial benefit. It must have been significant in the operation of the enterprise over that period. As for the other 4 accused, your roles may have been lesser roles but, as is often said, serious organised crime groups would be unable to operate as they do were it not for people like you prepared to carry out lesser but crucial roles in a drug dealing enterprise.

As it says in the JSWR for Anthony Carroll Senior, “Class A drug supply causes significant harm to individuals and communities. The distribution of drugs such as cocaine and diamorphine contributes to addiction, overdoses, physical and mental health problems, family breakdown, neglect of children and increased demand on health and social care services. Organised crime often generates wider criminality. Drug markets are frequently associated with intimidation, exploitation of vulnerable individuals, debt collection, violence, weapons, acquisitive crime and community fear. Those directing such activity play a key role in sustaining these harms. Money laundering enables organised crime to continue concealing and transferring criminal proceeds allows criminal enterprises to remain operational, reinvest profits and expand offending activity.”

In each case, I ordered a JSWR to obtain more information about each of you and your backgrounds. With the exception of Ryan Carberry, I also required to obtain such a report as none of you has previously served a custodial sentence.

ANTHONY CARROLL SENIOR

In the report, you acknowledge playing a significant role in organised crime and money laundering activities as stated within the indictment, although indicate that there are limits on what you can say about the operation. You accept acting for financial gain. You show appropriate insight and remorse, regretting that you involved others, in particular your son.

You are willing to engage in work and programmes within prison to address your offending.

I am given details of your family – your wife, 2 adult children and 5 grandchildren. I am also told that you suffered some adverse childhood experiences.

You have a long history of employment prior to a workplace injury in 2019. You still receive medication for pain and other health issues. Shortly after you became unable to work, you developed an extensive and expensive problem with cocaine and alcohol. Partly through your own drug use, you are aware of the damaging effects of drugs on individuals, family and society more generally.

ANTHONY CARROLL JUNIOR

In the report, you say that you became involved in this offending during Covid times when you lost your job and needed money to support yourself and your family. You acted on the direction of your father with limited wider knowledge about the operation. It appears that this matter has destroyed your relationship with your father.

You accept responsibility and express considerable remorse and regret, assessed by the author as genuine, especially for the effects on your partner and 2 children from an earlier relationship, including the 18 year old who lives in your tenancy. You demonstrate insight into the effects of drugs on the individual, their family but also wider society, acknowledging that even lesser roles are essential to the supply of drugs by serious crime gangs.

You have an extensive employment history up to the point of remand in this case. Your mental health has suffered over the years, including in connection with this matter.

RYAN CARBERRY

In the report, you describe significant drug use at the time. At the time, you minimised your role as involving “only collecting money”, but now show greater insight into the effects of drugs on others and society more generally, as well, of course, as your own family, your wife, son and 2 stepsons, and 2 children from your first relationship which also involved the tragic death of a daughter at the age of 3. Your son with your wife is autistic which adds to what you leave your partner to cope with due to this offending. Your wife is also 3 months pregnant.

Your drug use was so bad, coupled with the use of alcohol and steroids, that you had to give up work at the age of 38 due to the impact on your health. Before going into custody, you received medication for this.

You report having made significant changes since this time, giving up drugs and prioritising your family. You accept that you also did it for money and the author thinks that there may be more work to be done by, and with, you to extend your insight.

You describe adverse childhood experiences, including parental substance misuse. You have the support, but not approval, of your mother and older brother.

Your family gave you the motivation to change your behaviour and are the motivation to stay out of trouble upon your release. You have secured a position as a passman in prison.

MARC COOPER

In the report, you accept responsibility for your involvement in this matter. You became involved for financial gain, to support yourself, your partner and your 2 young children, and to support your use of cocaine. Partly due to your drug use and the birth of a child, your mental health was poor at the time. You continue to have the support of your family. You have a good record of employment. You ended your use of cocaine after being caught for this matter.

At the time, you did not consider the consequences of what you were doing although you have now done so and express a willingness to address your drug problem and this serious offending.

MICHAEL MONAGHAN

In the report, you accept responsibility for this offending, suggesting, without giving any detail, that your involvement was in part due to pressure. The author considers that you minimise your role. There has been a significant impact on you of your involvement - homelessness, addiction, poor mental health and periods spent as an in-patient in psychiatric hospital settings as well as involvement in other offending. You receive prescriptions for this and a diagnosis of schizophrenia which the author of the report has been unable to confirm. I have seen no report from a doctor or psychiatrist regarding this.

For perhaps obvious reasons, that has meant that your focus on this offending has been more on the effects on you rather than on others.

The report explains that your alcohol consumption became problematic, in particular following several significant bereavements. You have made unsuccessful efforts to address an associated drug problem which has complicated efforts to support your mental health. Your alcohol and drug issues continue and will require sustained effort on your behalf. This is also necessary to allow more meaningful work on your mental health.

You have 2 children but contact with them has now stopped.

Your counsel have rightly acknowledged the gravity of the charges and the inevitability in each case of a custodial sentence.

Of primary significance in this case is the scale of the organised criminal enterprise as glimpsed in the very large sums of money involved, as well as the period for which you were each involved which was not marked in days but between 2 and 5 months. Harm and potential harm is extremely high for all such major drug and serious crime operations. Culpability is also high.

Having regard to the whole circumstances of the case, in particular the gravity of the crime, only a custodial sentence is appropriate in each case. It is necessary to punish you and to seek to deter you and others from behaving in this way.

It is worth observing that there is a significant difference between a contravention of section 30 and section 28 of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010, and a similar charge involving being concerned in the supplying of a class A drug. That latter charge carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment whereas a charge under section 30 carries a maximum sentence of 14 years and under section 28 a maximum sentence of only 10 years imprisonment.

Anthony Carroll Senior, had you been facing a similar charge under the Misuse of Drugs Act, a cross check with the Sentencing Guidelines for England and Wales would suggest a range of 9 to 12 years in custody with a suggested starting point of 10 years.

As for the other 4, had you been facing a similar charge under the Misuse of Drugs Act, a cross check with the Sentencing Guidelines for England and Wales would suggest a range of 6 to 9 years in custody with a suggested starting point of 7 years.

Those ranges and suggested starting points do not apply here.

While what you have pled guilty to is extremely serious, I have to recognise that there could be more serious examples, for example, even in the case of Anthony Carroll Senior, involving a leading role higher up the chain of command or someone involved for a longer period or with a criminal history involving multiple relatively recent analogous convictions. Inevitably this difference will lead to sentences here which might appear relatively lenient but comparison is meaningless as the charges are very different.

Anthony Carroll Senior, but for your plea of guilty, the sentence would have been one of 6 years imprisonment.

I must and do recognise that there is a utilitarian value - that is primarily that there has been a saving of court time. This is a significant aspect of mitigation in your case. I will therefore reduce the period of imprisonment by 25%. That gives a final sentence of 4 years 6 months imprisonment.

For the other 4, although there are some differences, I make no distinction in sentence other than in relation to Mr Carberry’s analogous conviction and the timing of the plea by Mr Cooper.

Anthony Carroll Junior, but for your plea of guilty, the sentence would have been one of 4 years imprisonment.

Ryan Carberry, but for your plea of guilty, the sentence would have been one of 4 years 6 months imprisonment. This is greater than the starting point for the other 3 due to your analogous conviction.

I must and do recognise that there is a utilitarian value - that is primarily that there has been a saving of court time. This is the most significant aspect of mitigation in your case. I will therefore reduce the period of imprisonment by 25%. That gives a final sentence of 3 years 3 months imprisonment.

Marc Cooper, but for your plea of guilty, the sentence would have been one of 4 years imprisonment.

I must and do recognise that there is a utilitarian value - that is primarily that there has been a saving of court time. This is a particularly significant aspect of mitigation in your case as you used the procedure available for an accused person who wishes to plead guilty early. That allows me to give you greater recognition for your guilty plea. I will therefore reduce the period of imprisonment, not by 25% but by 30%. That gives a final sentence of 2 years 9 months imprisonment.

Michael Monaghan, but for your plea of guilty, the sentence would have been one of 4 years imprisonment.

In each case, the sentence is backdated to 24 August 2026.

I need also to deal with the Crown applications for Serious Crime Prevention Orders in each case. Having read the applications and heard from the Crown and your defence counsel, I will impose a Serious Crime Prevention Order in each case with conditions which have been discussed and explained to you. In your case, Anthony Carroll Senior, that is for a period of 5 years. In the case of the other 4, that is for a period of 4 years. This will take effect from the dates of your release.”