A pair who hid thousands of pounds worth of cocaine inside their own bodies have been warned they could be jailed.
Police searched Calum Findlay, 55, and Carol Knox, 63, after smelling cannabis from their car when it was stopped on the A9.
Back at the police station, both admitted to officers that they had drugs concealed internally.
Cocaine with a value of £10,500 was later recovered from them.
Findlay and Knox each admitted a single charge of being concerned in the supplying of a Class A drug at Inverness Sheriff Court.
Cannabis smell prompted drugs search
Fiscal depute Susan Love told the court that the pair, along with a third man, was in a Skoda Citago that was stopped on the A9 at Daviot on July 22 last year.
“As officers approached the vehicle, they noted a strong smell of cannabis coming from the vehicle,” she explained.
A search of the vehicle recovered traces of white powder as well as a Nokia mobile phone, believed to belong to Knox, with messages relating to the sale or supply of controlled drugs.
The car’s occupants were taken to Burnett Road police station in Inverness to be searched.
“A clear gel substance was found around the anus of the accused Findlay,” Ms Love said. “He was informed of the suspicion he was concealing drugs internally and confirmed he was”.
Findlay, of Broomhill Road, Muir of Ord agreed to remove the package but was unable to do so.
He was taken to Raigmore Hospital and kept under observation.
While there, he told officers he thought he had cocaine inside him but did not know how much.
Man ‘only did it for a bit of brown’
Findlay said that he “only did it for a bit of brown” – adding that he was addicted to heroin.
The court heard that Findlay eventually passed a package that contained 31.66g of cocaine.
The court heard that two further packages of cocaine were recovered from Knox, of Drovers Court in Muir of Ord.
Ms Love said: “Whilst in custody, the accused Knox stated she had an item concealed within her vagina.”
It was recovered and found to be a wrap containing 32.67g of cocaine.
A second wrap, discovered in her trouser leg, contained 42.2g of the drug.
The total value of the drugs seized was estimated to be £10,500.
‘Court will be considering a custodial sentence’
Solicitors Natalie Paterson, for Findlay, and Duncan Henderson, for Knox, acknowledged that the court would probably order pre-sentencing reports.
Mr Henderson provided the court with a letter – detailing the difficulty faced by his client, who uses crutches.
She remained seated in the public gallery for the duration of the hearing with the permission of the sheriff.
Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald deferred sentencing Knox and Findlay until next month, to allow time for the production of reports.
But she warned the pair: “Court will be considering a custodial sentence”.
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