A drug courier who was stopped after a police surveillance operation was jailed today after he was found with cocaine worth nearly £160,000 on the streets.
Liyapa Sikazwe was a passenger in a car that was intercepted by officers as it headed north on the A90 Dundee to Aberdeen road.
Police recovered a supermarket carrier bag from the vehicle containing almost two and a quarter kilos of cocaine.
Two kilos of the Class A drug were heavily cut with the bulking agent benzocaine, but the smaller amount was 66 per cent pure cocaine.
Sikazwe, 20, of Logie Place, Aberdeen, admitted being concerned in the supply of cocaine on January 29 this year on the road near Stonehaven and elsewhere.
Advocate depute Jim Keegan QC told the High Court in Edinburgh that Sikazwe had been acting as a courier for the consignment of Class A drugs seized by the police.
He said that on the day of the offence intelligence was received that Sikazwe was involved in drug supply and a decision was taken to set up surveillance on him.
He was seen being picked up in Portland Street, in Aberdeen, by a woman car driver and was driven to Dundee before going on to Glenrothes, in Fife.
As they returned north they stopped at a petrol station in Dundee and a supermarket carrier bag was seen in the vehicle partially covered by clothing.
After the car was stopped with Sikazwe in the front passenger seat, he, the driver and the vehicle were taken to Kittybrewster police station where a search was carried out.
Sikazwe had £381 on him and packages of drugs were found in the bag which had been adulterated with benzocaine.
Mr Keegan said: “It is commonly encountered as a sophisticated adulterant for cocaine in Scotland.”
Defence counsel Gareth Jones said a background report would be required on the first offender before sentencing and reserved his mitigation until it was that was prepared.
Mr Jones said that Sikazwe had been on bail throughout the proceedings without difficulty.
But the defence counsel added: “Given the quantity and classification of drugs he is realistic about the sentence he will ultimately receive.”
The judge, Lord Kinclaven, deferred sentence on Sikazwe until next month and remanded him in custody.
