A GLAMOROUS gangster’s moll wrote a love note to Scots drug kingpin James ‘The Don’ White after he was snared by cops in Brazil, we can reveal.
South American beauty Paula Gomes told of her heartache when her “very special” boyfriend’s criminal empire came crashing down.
It is understood she fell for the married hood when he was hiding out in the beachfront city of Fortaleza.
Her Instagram is full of videos and selfies showing off her tattoos, curves and luxury lifestyle including flash trips to Spain, Dubai and Norway.
White’s fling with Gomes emerged as he awaits sentence for running a multi-million pound drugs, guns and dirty money plot from his Brazilian hideaway.
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The pair met after he fled to the country where he took over control of Scotland’s most prolific drugs cartel following the disappearance of Mr Big brothers James Gillespie, 50, and Barry, 46, of Rutherglen, near Glasgow.
Gomes wrote: “I will never forget all that you have done for me.
“Actually remembering you is remembering me. You are a very special person, very special.
“I believe I never knew anyone with such a marvellous heart.
“I only desire that your life gives you great victories and this great storm will pass quickly from your life. You are more than an incredible human being.
“You are proof that good exists on Earth and yes there are persons who give importance to others and that there are still good persons. I adore you JW.”
She also posted a photo of dad-of-two White, 45, in a tuxedo with a flower pinned to his lapel.
The smitten 30-something mum shared posts inspired by Lewis Capaldi’s hit Someone You Loved, as well as a snap of two champagne flutes and a bottle of Krug from a beachfront bar.
She gushed: “The strange thing is that good memories hurt even more.”
A source in Brazil said: “They shared a whirlwind romance.
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“White had no problem keeping Paula entertained with all the money pouring in from his criminal empire.
“Paula made no secret of her passion for White and she even has a section on her Instagram stories called JW dedicated to her romance with him”
White, from Gartcosh, Lanarkshire, was arrested by Brazilian cops three years ago.
He had evaded officers in Italy five months earlier using a fraudulently obtained passport while subject to a European arrest warrant.
He spent 20 months in a Brazilian jail fighting extradition to Scotland but was returned to face justice last August.
Details of his former life with estranged wife Kirstin, 40, emerged at the High Court in Glasgow last month when White pleaded guilty to running the major crime gang.
Cops cracked encrypted Encrochat phone messages sent to Kirstin and White’s right-hand man Paul Fleming, 38, telling them the Gillespies had vanished and he was elevating himself to head of the mob.
Investigators also discovered White had “no legitimate income” and his luxury lifestyle was funded by “serious organised crime for a number of years” with no earnings records since 2004.
Despite this, White and Kirstin paid a £700-a-month mortgage, enjoyed a lavish wedding in September 2015 and had holidays in Mexico, the US and Paris.
They also enjoyed a trip with the families of other gangsters to a plush resort costing £19,782.
Raids in 2017 and 2020 found the Whites’ home “littered with designer clothes, jewellery and footwear” including a £21,900 watch, Louis Vuitton shoes worth £665, and two kittens believed to have been paid for with £1,990 cash.
Messages on Encrochat phones revealed the couple splashed out on quad bikes and jet skis for their kids plus garden improvements to boost the value of their home with cash that “can’t be banked”.
After White declared he’d taken over from the Gillespie brothers, he boasted he could rake in £10million a year from trafficking coke, guns and dirty cash between Central and South America, the UAE and Europe. He was nailed as part of Police Scotland’s serious organised crime Operation Escalade.
Detective Chief Superintendent Vicky Watson said: “White thought he could evade justice, but the diligence of our officers, working with partners here and abroad, saw him tracked down to face the consequences of his criminal actions.”
Cops said in January the Gillespies are believed to have been killed while on the run in Brazil.
White faces sentencing next month.
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