An Aberdeen man has been jailed after police found more than £16,000 worth of cannabis in his loft.
Calum Scobbie, 29, was caught red-handed by police when they arrived at his home on an unrelated matter and found him hiding in the loft with a rucksack filled with the drug.
Scobbie’s solicitor told the court that his client was “just holding” the cannabis for someone else in relation to a drugs debt.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard that Scobbie has a number of previous convictions related to cannabis possession and supply.
‘I was trying to make a bit of money’
Fiscal depute Lynne MacVicar told the court that upon arrival at Scobbie’s Aberdeen home on July 7 last year, police found a ladder going up into the loft.
She said: “A partially open rucksack was found at the top of the ladder that smelled strongly of cannabis and at which point the accused also revealed himself from within the loft space.
“The accused was then removed from the loft and upon reaching the bottom of the ladder he remarked ‘I’ve just been in jail for drugs and I was trying to make a bit of money'”.
Police found one white plastic bag and four black plastic bags containing cannabis estimated to be worth £16,500 if sold on the street.
Scobbie pleaded guilty to one charge of being concerned in the supply of cannabis.
Solicitor claims accused was ‘just holding’ drugs
Defence agent John Hardie told the court that Scobbie was contacted by “those whose drugs he had lost” during a previous drugs conviction.
He said: “He was told that his debt was still due and that he initially resisted but that threats of violence were made and that he would be stabbed.
“In fairness to him there was no money or packaging found with the drugs – he was just holding them.”
Sheriff Andrew Miller told Scobbie: “You have a significant criminal record including a total of five convictions for being concerned in the supply of cannabis or cannabis resin in addition to a number of other offences.
“The quantities and the value of the drugs found is significant, but I accept that they belonged to someone else.”
Sheriff Miller sentenced Scobbie, whose address was given as HMP Grampian, to two years in prison, backdated to December 20 last year.
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