A man was caught attempting to send cannabis worth £800 through the post, a court had heard
Keith Walton told Post Office staff that the package, destined for an address in Shetland, contained toys for his son.
But staff became suspicious and alerted police, who recovered 135 grams of the class B drug.
Walton, 40, appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court for sentencing having already admitted the single charge of being concerned in the supplying of cannabis.
Fiscal depute Emma MacEwan said on October 28 2020 Walton visited Dingwall post office at around 11.25 am.
Suspicious staff called police
The transaction was processed but staff, who noted that Walton had sent a similar package very recently, became suspicious and set the parcel aside.
Police were called and the package was later found to contain 135 grams of cannabis, with a value of £800.
Solicitor Mike Chapman, for Walton, told the court that his client had no recollection of committing the offence.
He said: “At the time he was in the grip of a serious drug dependency problem.
“His view is that he would have acted in the way that he had in order to fund his own drug habit.”
Mr Chapman said Walton had faced several issues that resulted in him turning to drug use at an early age.
‘Heavy shadow’ of drug use
“That drug use has cast a heavy shadow over his life until fairly recently,” he added.
The court heard that Walton had been making good progress with addressing his substance abuse issues.
Addressing Sheriff Robert Frazer, Mr Chapman said: “I would ask you to give Mr Walton credit for his efforts to turn his life around.”
Sheriff Frazer placed Walton, of Ord Terrace, Strathpeffer, on a community payback order with 12 months supervision and 100 hours of unpaid work in the community.
