A former ambulance worker claimed he was “helping out a friend” when he agreed to store almost £100,000 of cannabis in his flat.
Christopher Howie said he had done the favour for a new acquaintance who suspected that his own home was about to be searched by police.
But Howie, 39, later landed in the dock after the haul was discovered at the former ambulance call handler and ex-RAF first responder volunteer’s home in Aberdeen.
Six vacuum bags containing cannabis were recovered from a cupboard and another was found inside a holdall.
Mobile phones were also seized from the bedroom floor, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
The court previously heard that Howie had been in police custody over an unrelated matter, on January 18 last year.
At the time, officers were made aware that another person was storing their drugs at Howie’s property.
A search warrant that was issued on the same day allowed the address to be raided.
Police personnel used Howie’s key to get into the flat where they seized a collection of packages with a combined maximum value of £99,510.
The confiscated cannabis weighed 6.6kg altogether.
It was calculated to be worth just over £40,000, with a potential street value of up to £99,510.
Howie, of Jasmine Terrace in Aberdeen, admitted to being concerned in the supply of a controlled drug.
Long history of public service and volunteering work
His defence agent Gail Goodfellow detailed her client’s previous and long history of public service and volunteering work.
She told the court that Howie’s mental health had deteriorated after his father, who he cared for, died in 2010.
It happened around the time that Howie moved from Moray to Aberdeen to begin a decade-long career in the oil and gas sector.
He retrained as a driver in 2021 but resigned from the job after struggling to deal with previously-diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a 15-year battle with alcohol dependency.
‘Just helping out a friend’
Ms Goodfellow explained: “He lost control of the situation and his mental health spiraled out of control.
“He does not take drugs and has never taken drugs. He maintains he was not aware of the male’s involvement with drugs until four days before the offence.
“He was drinking over one litre of vodka a day. He was watching football with this acquaintance when the male told him he anticipated his house was going to be searched and asked if he could store drugs in his flat.
“Regrettably, and not in the right frame of mind, Mr Howie agreed to do that.
“He considered he was just helping out a friend. He was shocked to learn the value of the drugs.”
Jailed for over a year
Sheriff Andrew Miller told Howie: “These various factors underline how tremendously unfortunate it is that you chose to involve yourself in this enterprise.
“Knowing this package contained drugs, you agreed to store it for an acquaintance of yours.
“You involved yourself in the chain of supply, albeit you didn’t have control of the drugs and they didn’t belong to you.”
The sheriff jailed Howie for 13 months.
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