A TAKEAWAY restaurant owner caught after a £500,000 cocaine handover claimed he was "framed" by his accountant brother.

Nadeem Ahmed was snared having collected bags which he believed may have been designer clothes and trainers.

But, they instead held 12kg of the class A drug which were found in the boot of his car when he was stopped in Knightswood on June 17, 2022.

The 41- year-old denied being involved in crime and pinned the blame on a "jealous" younger brother who he claimed has since gone AWOL.

But, jurors convicted Ahmed of being concerned in the supply of cocaine following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

He now faces a lengthy jail term when he is sentenced in the New Year.

Ahmed told the trial his younger brother lost his chartered accountancy job during the Covid pandemic.

He said he then helped his sibling by taking him on at his busy takeaway in Yoker.

But, Ahmed described how his brother was unreliable and would often come in late.

Despite this, Ahmed said the pair discussed opening a restaurant in Dubai.

They flew out there before returning separately.

After arriving home, the brother apparently said he was going back to the United Arab Emirates claiming he had "no-one" in Scotland having recently gotten divorced.

Ahmed claimed that was the last time he seen him.

But, he said he got a call days later from his sibling.

Ahmed told jurors: "He was like: 'Look, a friend is going to come and see you. They have my belongings. Just take it'."

Ahmed said he was not interested, but that his brother "would not leave him alone" and claimed there would be "consequences" if he did not collect the bags.

He told jurors he eventually agreed before later putting them in the boot of his car.

Ahmed's KC Tony Graham asked him was he not "suspicious" about what was inside.

He claimed to have no idea it was a large drugs consignment.

Ahmed instead believed it was designer clothes and shoes - such as Adidas Yeezy trainers - as his brother was often "buying and selling" such items every three to four weeks.

Ahmed said: "I treated him more like a son than a brother. I never thought he would throw me under the bus."

Mr Graham asked why he did not check the bags.

He replied: "It was not my stuff. I never thought there would be drugs."

Ahmed, of Cambuslang, was later pulled by police in his car and the haul was discovered along with around £7000 in cash.

He recalled: "They said they were doing a drugs check. I thought: 'He has framed me, he has set me up'."

Quizzed why he thought this, Ahmed claimed his brother was "jealous" of him as he was a "successful businessman".

He said he last spoke to his brother on the phone to confront him after his initial court appearance in 2022.

Ahmed said: "I asked why he had set me up. He said: 'No comment'."

He also alleged his sibling told him he could not return to the UK as he was now "on the run".

Under cross-examination, prosecutor James Irvine put to Ahmed why he had not mentioned anything about his brother to the police at the time.

He claimed he did not know it would have "made any difference".

Mr Irvine instead said Ahmed had "took the chance that night and got caught".

Kerr Jones, 22, of Holytown, had earlier pleaded guilty to the same charge in connection with his involvement prior to Ahmed's trial.

Judge Bruce Erroch KC adjourned sentencing on both until next month.