A drug dealer caught with more than £12,000 cash and seen dishing out cannabis on multiple occasions has been jailed.
John Forrest was caught dealing the Class B drug no less than three times in Aberdeen between May and August 2020.
And now a sheriff has ruled he had “no option” but to jail the 35-year-old for his repeated offending, which Forrest claims stemmed from a head injury in 2014.
Fiscal depute David Ballock said Forrest was first caught by cops in May 2020 when they searched a car he was a passenger in and found two bags of the drug which had a street value of £1,250.
Just two months later he was caught again in a lane near Granitehill Road with 72g of cannabis, worth £1,175 on the street, stuffed up his jumper.
Found £12k drug money in cash
A search warrant at a home in Marchburn Crescent unearthed cash, made through drug sales, totalling £11,280.
That cash was hidden in a handbag, a glasses case and a medication bag and numerous mobile phones were also seized, the court heard.
Further cash was hidden in envelopes signed with Forrest’s initials ‘JF’.
Blamed previous head injury
Defence agent Iain Hingston said Forrest’s offending followed an incident in 2014 which left him with a “serious brain injury”.
“That left him with a number of considerable mental and health problems and a considerable problem with his hearing,” he said
“He finds himself very isolated because of that and, as a result, he can become fairly depressed and he can become over-reliant on self-medication in respect of the drugs involved.
“That leads him into problems with others and that is why he is here.”
Forrest admitted being concerned in the supply of cannabis on various occasions between May 29 and August 19 2020.
No option but jail
Sheriff Graham Buchanan said in light of his previous convictions for dealing and possession of cannabis, and the significant amount of cash involved, he had no choice but to imprison Forrest.
He told him: “It does sound to me that you seem to be clear and aware as to what was going on in regards to this particular enterprise.”
Forrest, of Spey Road, Aberdeen, was jailed for six months.
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