A 20-year-old former offshore worker from Ross-shire was fined £800 yesterday for twice being caught with cocaine – and on one occasion he attempted to run away from police.
Lee Wright, of Ardross, admitted possessing 1 gram of cocaine in Auctioneers bar in Inverness on February 25, and possessing 0.3 grams of the Class A drug on December 10 last year after trying to obstruct a police search near the National Hotel in Dingwall.
He had already pleaded guilty to the earlier offence on March 31 this year.
Wright’s defence solicitor, Duncan Henderson, told Inverness Sheriff Court that his client was earning £1,500 a week as an offshore welder but has now conceded that his future in this role is no longer possible, and has since found work elsewhere.
Depute Fiscal Fiona Murray told the court that police saw Wright acting suspiciously outside the National Hotel in Dingwall on December 10 last year.
She said: “As they approached him, the accused started to walk and then jog off towards the bar of the hotel and police managed to stop him and, at this point, they detained him.
“But, upon detaining him he managed to break free and run off towards the High Street. He was also then seen to discard an item before he was apprehended. It was found in a drive way and and later analysed as 0.3 grams of cocaine.”
Ms Murray added that on February 25 this year, police were carrying out licence checks at Auctioneers and saw Wright acting suspiciously and detained him, and when they searched him found 1 gram of cocaine with a street value of between £50 and £100.
