A drug trafficker broke down in tears as he was jailed after being caught with high-purity cocaine worth more than £120,000 on the streets.
Police officers recovered nearly a kilo of the drug during a raid at the home of satellite engineer Brett Ewen in Aberdeen.
They also found a press in a shed in the rear garden of the property in the city’s Rosehill Avenue and signs that Ewen may have been adulterating the drug to a lower level of purity.
Ewen, 32, admitted being concerned in the supply of the Class A drug on June 3 last year, when he appeared at the High Court in Edinburgh.
Sentence must reflect ‘serious’ nature of offence
Advocate depute Christopher MacIntosh told the court that although Ewen has previous convictions they were not for similar offences.
The prosecutor said that, based on intelligence, police secured a search warrant which was executed at Ewen’s address on June 3 last year.
‘Parasitic worm treatment’ mixed with drugs
In a bedroom they recovered a bag containing four packages of cocaine, each weighing about a quarter of a kilo.
The drug haul was valued at £123,000.
The cocaine was between 56% and 70% pure, which was regarded as high by police drug experts.
A treatment for parasitic worms had been used as an adulterant with it.
Mr MacIntosh said a number of attempts were made to trace Ewen before officers located him on June 8.
He was arrested and cautioned with a drug offence and made no reply.
Defence counsel David Moggach said: “Mr Ewen acknowledges he has pled guilty to a serious offence and the sentence will have to reflect it.”
The judge, Lord Young, deferred sentence on Ewen for the preparation of a background report.
Ewen, who was on bail, was remanded in custody and was in tears as he was led to the cells.
He is due to be sentenced on July 29 at the High Court in Glasgow.
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