A mother and son have appeared in the dock after hundreds of pounds worth of amphetamine was found in a freezer at their home.
Police raided the address shared by Ryan Henderson, 35, and his 58-year-old mum Patricia Kirton, or Cran, twice in just a month-and-a-half.
On both occasions, officers recovered drugs worth hundreds of pounds and thousands in cash.
During the first search of the property, the police uncovered a stash of the Class B drug amphetamine, which was hidden inside a freezer located in a hall cupboard.
Fiscal depute Jane Spark told Aberdeen Sheriff Court that officers executed a drug search warrant at the property on Newton Road during the morning of January 4 2021.
‘Money seized was part of his savings and the rest belonged to his mother’
Henderson was found inside and detained while the police searched the dwelling.
Officers found £510 in cash throughout the family home and, inside a hall cupboard, a freezer and a safe were also discovered.
Two clear bags in a freezer drawer were found to contain 62.98g of amphetamine worth £620.
Inside the safe, officers recovered a further £3,500 in cash.
Henderson was arrested and, during his interview, he “stated that money seized was part of his savings and the rest belonged to his mother”.
Just over a month later, on February 18 2021, police raided the property again.
Officers forced entry into the accused’s home, where both Henderson and Cran were traced and detained.
This time, in the kitchen, the police seized scales and self-seal bags into evidence.
In one of the bedrooms, officers found wraps of white powder and a blue tub containing tablets.
The substances were later examined and confirmed to be 8.51g and 219 tablets containing etizolam with a potential value of £324, and 4.93g of amphetamine worth £90.
Police also confiscated £11,330 in cash from around the property and various mobile phones.
One phone contained an incoming message reading: “Its Hazel any chance u can lay me jst one half o and I swear I wont ask again plz.”
Henderson, of Newton Road in Aberdeen, admitted being concerned with the supply of amphetamine, a Class B drug, on January 4 and February 18 2021.
Cran, of the same address, pled guilty to being concerned with the supply of etizolam, a Class C drug, on February 18 2021.
‘Any repetition of offending with drugs will take you back to the jail’
Defence agent Liam Mcallister, representing Henderson, pointed out that his offence occurred more than three years ago.
“To say Mr Henderson has turned his life around since then would be an understatement,” Mr Mcallister said.
“He has remained substance-free, which was the cause of all his offending in the past.
“He is the primary carer for his son, making up for lost time, trying to be a good father and lead by example as there were earlier periods he missed through imprisonment.”
Mr Mcallister added that his client had been sharing amphetamine with another family member at the time as they were both “heavy users”, and that there was no “commercial” dealing.
Alex Burn, Cran’s solicitor, echoed much of the background outlined by Mr Mcallister.
He added: “She indicates what happened here is she was aware of the difficulty they were having. She took the drugs from them and stored them.
“She would have been better advised to get rid of them completely.”
Sheriff Ian Duguid KC ordered Henderson to complete 250 hours of unpaid work and warned: “Any repetition of offending with drugs will take you back to the jail.”
He fined Cran £420.
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