A man turned up at a woman’s flat in Tillydrone armed with a hammer and forced her to allow him to use the property as a base to deal drugs.
Samir Mohamed, along with another male, made it clear that they would use the weapon if she did not let them deal cocaine and heroin from her Formartine Road home.
But Mohamed, 30, was later caught red-handed when police kicked the door down and raided the property.
Fiscal depute Kirsty Martin told Aberdeen Sheriff Court the woman was a tenant in the ground floor council flat.
Accused claimed he was just there to ‘smoke crack’
On January 9 last year, the woman’s partner was introduced to Mohmed and another male who “offered him money to use the property as a base to deal drugs from”.
The woman was also present at the time and was told Mohamed and the other man would “sit in her address”.
Ms Martin said: “They had a hammer and threatened to use it if she didn’t let them stay.
“The complainer saw that they had a couple of bags with them. She assumed it was drugs.
“She was terrified and felt she had no option but to allow them to stay at the locus.”
‘He was preyed upon by those in the drug cartel much higher up’
The following day, Mohamed and the other male were heard talking about “brown” and were seen with wraps.
That afternoon, police forced entry to the address executing a drug search warrant.
The tenant, her partner, Mohamed and the other male were all present and ran into the kitchen where the door was held shut.
Officers managed to overpower them to gain entry and Mohamed was arrested.
Cocaine and heroin worth £450 and £1,230 respectively were recovered from the address, along with the hammer.
Mohamed, who was also found with £220 in cash, later claimed in interview that he was only there to “smoke crack” and that the drugs did not belong to him.
Mohamed, of Grafton Street, Northampton, pled guilty to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner and being concerned in the supply of cocaine and heroin.
Defence agent Tony Burgess passed the sheriff a number of written character references related to his client.
He explained: “The reason that this offence was committed was, in part, because of a debt that had come about from a previous conviction.
“He tells me that amounted to somewhere in the region of £2,000.
“He was informed that by doing what he did, the debt would be written off.”
‘You are so close to going to jail here’
Mr Burgess said it was made clear to Mohamed it “wasn’t an option” and that threats had been made against both him and his family.
The solicitor went on: “He was preyed upon by those in the drug cartel much higher up than he.
“As a result of that, he got into debt which resulted in him coming to Aberdeen as directed by others.”
Mr Burgess said Mohamed, a dad-of-two, had moved away from a life of crime.
Sheriff David Hall told Mohamed: “I have to say, when I read the crown narrative I did think there was no option but to send you to jail.
“Having said that, I have had the opportunity of reading the social work report, testimonials, and contract of work.”
Sheriff Hall said he also noted Mohamed’s age and the timing of his plea, explaining: “I think there is an alternative to custody here.
“You should see it as a last chance.”
He warned that if there was any further offending “there’s not a sheriff or judge in this land who will do anything other than sentence you to a period of imprisonment”.
He added: “You are so close to going to jail here.”
As a direct alternative to prison, he ordered Mohamed to complete 300 hours of unpaid work, which is the maximum, and to be supervised for a year.
For all the latest court cases in Aberdeen as well as crime and breaking incidents, join our Facebook group.