A man caught with more than 750g of cannabis in his house was selling drugs to pay off debts to “unpleasant” people.
Ian Jaffray, 32, appeared at Tain Sheriff Court for sentencing having previously pled guilty to being concerned in the supplying of the Class B drug.
The offence came to light when officers attended Jaffray’s home on Riverside Road, Alness, on July 24 this year for an unrelated matter and spotted signs of drug use.
Jaffray then led police to a kitchen cupboard in which various tubs and bags of cannabis had been stashed.
Drug paraphernalia and a smell of cannabis
Fiscal depute Pauline Gair said: “They observed various drug paraphernalia, signs of drug consumption and a strong smell of cannabis. The accused disclosed to officers that he had cannabis in the kitchen cupboard and showed them where it was.”
The court heard police then recovered multiple containers including bags and tubs containing varying amounts of green herbal matter. The total weight of cannabis recovered was 754.7g, however, no value was given.
Mrs Gair told the court: “The accused did not provide any information to the police as to who had provided him with the drugs. He was arrested and made no reply to the caution or charge.”
A debt he owed to ‘unpleasant’ people
Solicitor Neil Wilson told the court that his client, who had suffered trauma, turned to dealing after amassing arrears of his own.
“He was trying to pay off a debt he owed to no doubt fairly unpleasant people.”
Addressing sentencing options for his client he said: “There are underlying difficulties which, if properly addressed, would be of help to Mr Jaffray and help to the community at large.”
As a direct alternative to a custodial sentence, Sheriff Gary Aitken placed Jaffray on a community payback order with 18 months supervision and 100 hours of unpaid work.
