Two men caught trafficking cocaine in Aberdeen have been jailed for a total of eight years.
Jed Duncan, 25, and Robert Burns, 27, were snared as part of an undercover police operation targeting a serious crime gang in the city.
DNA evidence linked Burns to seizures of cocaine worth £161,000, and similar forensic evidence showed Duncan had handled £36,000 of the Class A drug.
At the High Court in Edinburgh, judge Lady Carmichael jailed Burns for four years and eight months while Duncan was sentenced to three years and four months.
DNA found on packaging of drugs
Burns admitted being concerned in the supply of cocaine on November 18 and 19 November last year in Aberdeen.
Duncan pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of the Class A drug in the city between November 4 and 6 last year.
Advocate depute Jane Farquharson QC, prosecuting, said the pair were caught as part of the police’s Operation Taco.
She said on November 6, Duncan was seen getting into the driver’s seat of “a vehicle of interest” – a white Renault Kangoo van – and driving away from Cranford Road in Aberdeen.
The vehicle was later searched and bags of cocaine were recovered. Duncan’s DNA were found on the knots of the packaging. Quantities of the bulking agent benzocaine and an analgesic were also seized.
Ms Farquharson said police then searched his home in the city’s Bedford Avenue and discovered £4,290 in cash, along with keys for a flat in Urquhart Road. Traces of cocaine and benzocaine were found in the kitchen.
She said: “The property at Urquhart Road was largely empty and not being lived in. It had been used to prepare controlled drugs, specifically cocaine, for onward distribution.”
Pair got involved to pay off debts
Later that month, on November 18, warehouseman Burns was seen getting into a Renault Kangoo van which was parked outside his mother’s home in Garthdee Road, Aberdeen, before driving off.
He was later seen driving an Audi Q7 and police found the Kangoo parked in Hammerfield Avenue. A kilo of cocaine was found inside, which had traces of his DNA on it.
Defence counsel Gareth Jones said Duncan – who has a lengthy list of previous convictions – had a long-standing drugs problem which escalated into cocaine use and running up a substantial debt.
He added: “He accepts he allowed property to be used for the storing and packaging of cocaine which he was fully aware was for onward distribution.”
Burns and Duncan must ‘face the consequences’
Mr Jones said that Duncan also accepted that he moved drugs at the request of others but maintained he was not responsible for distributing to the end user.
Defence counsel Neil Shand said his client Burns had about £4,500 of debt and had been pressed for repayment.
He added Burns, who was living between addresses in Aberdeen and Portlethen, “should have known better” and realised he would have to “face the consequences”.
Detective Sergeant Calum Bell said: “We welcome the sentences given to Jed Duncan and Robert Burns, who were caught following a targeted operation.
“Controlled drugs have no place in our society and we will continue to target individuals who profit from this illegal activity.”