A lorry driver was caught driving with cocaine in his system twice in four days – when cops turned up to escort his HGV.
Paul Cadger was found to have a derivative of the drug in his system, as well as thread-bare tyres on his car, when police pulled him over on Summerhill Road, Aberdeen, on Monday September 7 last year.
But then just three days later, on Thursday September 10, cops arrived at E Blast on Tumulus Way, Kintore, to escort an HGV, only to find Cadger behind the wheel – still with the drug in his system.
The 38-year-old, who appeared before Aberdeen Sheriff Court without a solicitor, raged that he hadn’t had any cocaine “since the weekend” and said when he was first arrested nobody had told him the drug would stay in his system for so long.
Fiscal depute Sean Ambrose told the court: “At roughly 5.35pm on September 7 last year, officers on South Anderson Drive saw the white vehicle being driven in front of them.
“They indicated it to stop using their emergency equipment for a routine document check.
“The accused was found to be the driver and sole occupant.”
Checks revealed the car had no insurance and that its test certificate had expired.
‘I hadn’t had any cocaine since the weekend’
The front and read offside tyres were also so worn down that the cord was exposed.
Cadger was required to provide a sample of saliva which tested positive for cocaine.
He was taken to Kittybrewster police station.
On September 10, police arrived at E Blast to escort an “abnormal load” and found Cadger to be the HGV driver.
A test confirmed he still had the drug in his system.
Cadger, of Rousey Terrace, Aberdeen, pled guilty to driving a car with 207 microgrammes of Benzoylecgonine, a cocaine derivative, per litre of blood on September 7, and then driving a lorry with 172 microgrammes on September 10.
The legal limit is 50 microgrammes.
He also admitted driving without insurance or a test certificate, and with the tyre cord exposed on two wheels.
‘That is a very, very poor excuse’
Asked by the sheriff what he wanted to say about the offences, Cadger replied: “I hadn’t had any cocaine since the weekend. It was only what was in my system.
“Nobody had informed me that chemical would still be in my body for the rest of the week.”
Cadger said if somebody had told him the drug would stay in his system for so long he would not have driven.
Sheriff Peter Grant-Hutchison replied: “That is a very, very poor excuse.
“The fact of the matter is you were driving on two occasions with a significant amount of cocaine in your system.
“I will be calling for reports because there’s a distinct possibility of a custodial sentence in this case.”
The sheriff deferred sentence until October while the reports are prepared.
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