A roofer with a sideline dealing drugs for an organised crime gang was caught red-handed with cocaine with a potential street value of nearly £100,000.
Gareth Speirs, 44, was caught touring Scotland distributing large quantities of the Class A drug twice in the space of four months.
A surveillance operation was set up in Inverness after police received a tip-off and Speirs was spotted with a bag of cocaine at a BP filling station in Longman Road.
Just months later, police received more information that Speirs had left his Glasgow home again to spread cocaine and a watch was set up in Dundee.
He was caught again – with more than twice as much cocaine as he had been caught with in Inverness – and now faces being sent to prison.
Drugs linked to ‘organised crime’
Speirs, Lamont Road, appeared at Dundee Sheriff Court and admitted being concerned in the supply of cocaine to others in Inverness on 12 January 2018 and in Dundee on 18 May 2018.
He admitted the offence was aggravated by a link to organised crime.
Sheriff Jillian Martin-Brown granted Speirs bail, but warned him: “Given the amount of drugs involved I think you should know a custodial sentence is something realistic.”
Solicitor Paul Sutherland said: “He’s under no illusion, given the high level of values involved, that a custodial sentence will be uppermost in the court’s mind.”
DNA on bag zip
Fiscal depute Michael Dunlop told the court: “He was single and residing with his parents at the time. He is a roofer.
“Intelligence was received by Police Scotland that a civilian was about to source drugs from the accused. Officers began surveillance at the BP filling station.
“A person met with the accused and he left with a carrier bag. The bag contained 229 grams of cocaine and the accused’s DNA was found on an inner zip.”
Mr Dunlop said that if the high purity cocaine was adulterated to normal levels and sold in £50 deals it had a potential value of £31,650.
The fiscal depute added: “On May 18, intelligence was received that another civilian was about to source drugs from the accused. Officers saw a civilian leave the accused’s car in Forth Crescent, Dundee.”
He said the package on this occasion had a potential value of £63,700 and added that the Crown accepted Speirs’ role was limited to the two days he was caught.
Sentence was deferred for the preparation of background and restriction of liberty order reports and Speirs had his bail continued.
For all the latest from the court rooms of Tayside and Fife, join our Facebook group.