A Brunel University graduate has been jailed after police found him with more than £45,000 worth of drugs at his Aberdeen flat.
Christopher Ihegbu, 56, has dozens of packages of drugs at his home on Wellington Street when police raided the property.
His solicitor told the Aberdeen Sheriff Court that Ihegbu, a business management master’s graduate, was holding the drugs as a favour for a dealer.
Fiscal depute Carol Gammie told the court that police arrived at Ihegbu’s address on August 1 last year and led him into the living room as they conducted a search.
Police found more than a dozen plastic bags that contained a white substance and other drug-related paraphernalia.
Ms Gammie said: “The 13 plastic bags of white substance were analysed and found to contain around 27 grams of cocaine each – these were ounce deals.
“These were valued at around £1,000 to £1,200 each with a total value of £35,360.”
Other bags were also found that contained white substances which were not broken down into recognised deals but were estimated to be worth a maximum of £9,930.
A knife and weighing scales were also found and analysed and found to contain cocaine residue.
Ihegbu pleaded guilty to one charge of being concerned in the supply of cocaine.
‘He knew that it shouldn’t have been there’
Defence agent Alex Burn told the court that his client, who now works as a courier driver, had “never in trouble with the authorities whatsoever” and had a master’s degree in business management from Brunel University in London.
He explained that when Ihegbu moved to Aberdeen he got into a drug debt and agreed to hold a package as a means to pay some of it back.
“Mr Ihegbu thought he could pay that back by taking this package but he didn’t know what was in the package,” Mr Burn said.
“However, he knew that it shouldn’t have been there and that he shouldn’t have been taking care of it.
“He was a link in the chain and he fully accepts that he was involved in the supply of Class A drugs.
“He is absolutely petrified that this might lead to a custodial sentence.”
Sheriff Ian Wallace told Ihegbu that due to the “nature of the offence” he could only consider the imposition of a custodial sentence.
He sentenced Ihegbu, of Union Grove, Aberdeen, to a total of 15 months in prison.
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