A man caught with almost £40,000 of drugs money in a shoebox – which he claimed came from selling snakes – has been jailed.
Ian Austin was searched by police after they spotted him being handed a rucksack by Daniel Adams in the King Street area of Aberdeen.
Undercover officers, who had been tipped off there was an organised crime gang dealing drugs in the city, later stopped Austin and discovered £39,920 in cash in a shoebox inside the rucksack.
Adams, 25, of Aberdeen, was caught on the M74 near Bothwell, Lanarkshire. When the car he was a passenger in was searched, a large quantity of cannabis resin was discovered.
Austin, from Liverpool, and Adams previously admitted being concerned in the supply of cannabis resin last September.
At the High Court in Glasgow yesterday, the judge told they were involved in an “evil trade”.
Lady Rae jailed Austin for 43 months, and Adam for 58 months.
Austin’s defence counsel Derick Nelson said that his client owed money to drug dealers.
Ronnie Renucci, defending Adams, said: “He accepts he had a choice and made the wrong choice. He recognises he has let himself down and let his family down.”
Lady Rae told the pair: “This is an evil trade that you are involved in. Lives are blighted by drugs. You both played an important role this trade. What must your children think of you both. What sort of example are you giving to youngsters.
“I see the misery of drugs day in day out in this job and it is not a pleasant experience.”
