A 29-year-old Inverness man who stashed £11,000 worth of drugs in a golf course was jailed for 16 months yesterday.
Inverness Sheriff Court heard that greenkeepers at the city’s Torvean municipal golf course got a shock when they discovered a rucksack containing amphetamine near the 13th hole.
But the find proved to be unlucky for Bryan Durrand who left his fingerprints on the packaging used to wrap up the amphetamine.
Defence solicitor Shahid Latif battled to keep his client out of jail, saying: “This offence is at the lower end of the spectrum. He was not high up in the chain of supply.
“Around this time his partner had suffered a miscarriage and it had a profound effect on him. In his own words he said he went off the rails.
“We are dealing here with a class B drug and he is not considered a high risk of re-offending.” Mr Latif added.
The Court was told the greenkeepers at Torvean Golf Course in Inverness were so surprised, one remarked: “It’s like the stuff you see in films.”
Fiscal depute Michelle Molley told Sheriff Chris Dickson that “rural stashes” were “favoured by persons concerned in the supply of drugs”.
Durrand, of Knocknagael, Inverness, admitted being concerned in the supply of the drug on December 15, 2014 while he was on bail for another matter.
Ms Molley said: “Two employees discovered a partially buried rucksack at a felled tree near the 13th hole.
“They opened it and saw two bags. The fingerprints of Durrand were recovered from all the layers protecting the substances.
“In total the wholesale value was £2,500 but dependent on weight of street deals, would achieve a median retail value of £11,079.” Ms Molley added.
It was seven months later after scientific and forensic examination before Durrand was arrested.
