A man caught with cannabis worth up to £14,000 got involved in drug dealing as a “get rich quick scheme” to buy a new car.
Ben Lyon, 23, was found with herbal cannabis worth £6,000, but with the potential to sell for between £9,500 and £14,000.
Police discovered the drugs at an address on Simpson Road in Bridge of Don in January 2020.
Lyon, along with an 18-year-old co-accused David McKenzie, were both convicted of being concerned in the supply of herbal cannabis on a date in January 2020 following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
And the pair have now appeared in the dock at the High Court in Aberdeen to be sentenced over the matter.
‘He has very much learned his lesson’
Frances Connor, counsel for Lyon, told the court her client had been “extremely frank” with the author of a court-ordered social work report and had found talking to them “therapeutic”.
She said Lyon had become involved as a “get rich quick scheme”, which he now blamed on his “youth and immaturity” with the goal of buying a car.
Ms Connor said Lyon feels he has “left that life behind”, and has “drastically” reduced his reliance on cannabis and distanced himself from people he knew at the time.
She added: “He has very much learned his lesson.”
Counsel Kelly Duling, representing McKenzie, said the social work report painted a picture of her client as a “vulnerable and somewhat naive individual”.
‘You wanted to make a fast buck’
She said he was just 16 at the time of the offence and was vulnerable to influence by others.
Judge Olga Pasportnikov said she had to have regard for the guidelines for sentencing young people, which state the chief consideration has to be rehabilitation.
Addressing Lyon, of Larch Road, Aberdeen, she said: “Drugs bring misery to communities.”
She added: “You hoped to make a profit of £2,000. You wanted to make a fast buck.
“This is not the way. Only hard work will do that.”
As an alternative to custody, she ordered Lyon to complete 190 hours of unpaid work and be supervised for 18 months, as well as imposing a curfew for four months.
Turning to McKenzie, the judge said she noted that he was subjected to “negative peer pressure”.
She said the teen had been supplying “small amounts” of cannabis to people he knew in order to fund his own habit.
She placed him on a structured deferred sentence for six months to engage with programme work and be of good behaviour.
For all the latest court cases in Aberdeen and the latest crime and breaking incidents, join our new Facebook group.
