An “absolutely terrified” mum-of-two who was forced to stash £36,450 of drugs behind her fridge has been spared prison but only “with some hesitation”.
Angela Morrison was ordered to store the rucksack of heroin and cannabis at her Aberdeen home to help pay off a historic drug debt.
The 46-year-old’s haul was uncovered after a drug search warrant saw her Aulton Court flat raided by police.
Morrison told officers she’d been told to look after the drugs by a man known as “Jamaican Leon”.
Fiscal depute Dylan Middleton said the police executed the search warrant on the morning of November 25 last year.
Targeted by ‘Jamaican Leon’
“The accused was interviewed at which time she denied being involved in the sale and supply of drugs.
“She stated she was looking after the items for a male known as ‘Jamaican Leon’ and was doing so in order to pay for a historic drugs debt over the period libelled.”
He said the Crown accepted her position.
The 627g of cannabis recovered had a value of around £10,450 while the 593g of heroin was worth £26,000.
Morrison admitted two charges of being concerned in the supply of controlled drugs between October 25 and November 21 last year.
Her defence agent Mike Monro said his client’s position has always been the same – that she’d wound up in the “proverbial cuckoo’s nest”.
“She is very naive and easily led and simply fell into this trap,” he said.
“She doesn’t dispute that previously she was involved in the consumption of drugs. She was so heavily involved previously that she was in debt.”
The person she owed money to was no longer in the picture, however, so Morrison assumed the debt was over.
“But this person from the Caribbean made it abundantly clear what was expected of her,” the solicitor added.
“She was in fear for herself, but of course, once the drugs were on her property she could have taken the right step.
“They were delivered to her in a rucksack and placed behind her fridge.
“There had been no packaging of the drugs by her, nobody coming or going to deal the drugs and nobody acting as a runner – just the accused who was absolutely terrified of having the drugs in her home for this short period.”
Spared jail ‘with hesitation’
Sheriff Graham Buchanan told her: “This is a very serious offence and I think you know that.
“However, I do take the view from various things that are said in the report that you are a somewhat vulnerable individual who has been taken advantage of.
“That’s something that’s not an uncommon situation and quite frequently the court will give limited importance to that and take a view that a custodial sentence is inevitable.
“In your case, and with some considerable hesitation, I have taken the view I can deal with your case in a way that’s a direct alternative to custody.”
Morrison, of Aulton Court, Aberdeen, was handed a 12-month supervision order and 225 hours of unpaid work.
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