Cocaine with a street value of £35,000 were found hidden in a child’s Bob the Builder rucksack Inverness Sheriff Court was told today.
The surprising stash was discovered after drugs squad officers smashed their way into a home in the city it was said.
Appearing for sentence were Inverness men, Christopher Williamson, 44, of 13 Glendoe Terrace, and Steven Marshall, 29, of 80 Maclennan Crescent.
Marshall pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of over 700grams of cocaine while Williamson admitted possession of 51 diazepam tablets, both in Williamson’s Glendoe Terrace home on December 17, 2012.
The court was told Marshall had previously been jailed for a year for being concerned in the supply of drugs, but Sheriff David Sutherland limited today’s sentence to 18 months after being told that Marshall had confessed to police that his co-accused had no knowledge of the “coke”.
Fiscal depute Michelle Molley told the court that Marshall had gone to police and said he had hidden the drugs in Williamson’s flat without his knowledge.
He told officers: “He had no knowledge of this. It is only fair I admit what I have done.”
Miss Molley said that police received a tip off about the drugs and obtained a search warrant for Williamson’s home.
She said: “It was executed on December 17, 2012 and officers forced entry. Williamson and two others are in there at the time. Williamson was restrained, detained and handcuffed before being asked if there were any drugs in the house.
“He replied ‘Apart from valium, no.'”
Police found the diazepam during the search along and then discovered three bags of cocaine powder in the child’s rucksack.
“The purity of two of the bags was 5% and 8.5%. If sold in 1oz deals, they were worth £20,000-£25,000. But if sold in 1grm deals, they had a maximum street value of £35,000. Steven Marshall’s DNA was found on one of the bags.
“He later went to the police station to discuss the cocaine seizure. He said he was looking after the bags for someone else and had them in a different location before they arrived in Glendoe Terrace. I am a friend of Christopher Williamson and he had no knowledge of this.”
Williamson’s lawyer, Pauline Chapman said her client’s home was “an open house for those in the drugs community.”
She added: “He was heavily addicted to drugs and at the time was not fully aware of what was going on around him. I am informed he no longer takes illegal drugs and only anti-depressants.”
Marshall’s defence solicitor Iain Warburton told the court that the drugs were found in a Bob the Builder’s bag.
He revealed that Marshall had previously been sentenced to a 12 month jail sentence for being concerned in the supply of drugs on October 10 last year.
“But this offence pre-dates that conviction. He served four and a half months and was released on a tag.”
Sheriff Sutherland told Marshall he would restrict the sentence to 18 months because: “There appears to be genuine contrition as you went to the police.”
ends