A drug trafficker who fled abroad before a court appearance has been jailed for three years after he was brought back from Spain to face justice.
James Metcalf was placed under police surveillance in 2015 before officers deployed a sniffer dog to search woodland near the A90 road in Aberdeenshire.
A haul of heroin worth more than £75,000 on the streets was recovered and drugs tick lists and scales were also found at an address linked to Metcalf in Bon Accord Street, in Aberdeen.
Metcalf was detained but subsequently bailed after appearing at Aberdeen Sheriff Court. He failed to appear for a subsequent hearing at the High Court in Edinburgh in March 2017.
‘You were well aware of what you were doing’
A judge at the High Court in Edinburgh was told that the Englishman had bought a one-way ticket for Spain.
He was later traced in Spain and arrested in October last year and sent to Malaga prison before being extradited to the UK.
Metcalf, 41, a prisoner, admitted being concerned in the supply of the Class A drug in October 2015 and failing to appear for the later court diet.
Accused and family received ‘significant threats’
Lord Tyre told him: “Clearly you were a participant in a major supply operation and you were well aware of what you were doing.”
The judge said he would have faced a total sentence of four-and-a-half years for the offences, but it would be reduced following his earlier guilty pleas.
Defence counsel Gareth Jones said Metcalf had run up “a significant debt” to criminals much higher up the drugs supply chain.
The defence counsel said that both Metcalf and members of his family started to receive “significant threats” over the outstanding money owed.
He said it was against that background that he became involved in the drugs that were later recovered.
“He understands, given the quantity and classification of the drugs, that he will receive a custodial sentence,” said Mr Jones.
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