A drug mule caught as he drove hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of cannabis from Aberdeen has been fined after spending more than a year on remand.
Police stumbled on the £360,000 haul when they pulled over Albanian duo Lulzim Musollari and Cezar Manciu at the Broxden roundabout after spotting a fault with their MOT certificate.
The men parked in an A9 layby and officers immediately smelled their enormous 22kg haul, being transported to Manchester from the north-east.
While police carried out checks, passenger Manciu, from London, got out and ran across both carriageway lanes from driver Musollari’s Kia Sportage.
After being found 45 minutes later in a bush a kilometre away, he told police: “It is only drugs, I’m not killing people – this is too much.”
The pair met hours before their drug run, while working at a Manchester restaurant.
Chef-turned-joiner Manciu, 32, previously admitted possessing the Class B drug with intent to supply it on January 24 last year.
55-year-old Musollari, from Manchester, denied the same offence.
However, jurors rejected his claim he had no idea his friend’s cargo was illicit and his excuse he had no hint of the reeking stash because he lost his sense of smell after contracting Covid-19 at his wife’s 50th birthday party.
Driver dealt with
After a jury at Forfar Sheriff Court convicted Musollari last month, he was released on bail for pre-sentencing social work reports to be prepared.
Solicitor Paul McHugh said his client, a former chef, spent 377 days on remand, the equivalent of more than a two-year prison sentence.
He said: “For someone who has absolutely no experience of custody and from his geographical locale, it took its toll.
“He made efforts whilst within the prison system to make himself useful.
“For seven months, he worked in the kitchen. He felt at least he was making a contribution.
“He’s been stoic in his actions.”
Sheriff Mungo Bovey said: “I do accept that Mr Musollari was commissioned by Mr Manciu to drive to Aberdeen and collect the cannabis and that the role was as a driver.
“The bad news is that I don’t accept his (explanation) of how that came about.
“I don’t accept he had no sense of smell and he didn’t know it was cannabis until the stench overcame him.”
Fining Musollari £500, plus a £20 victim surcharge, the sheriff added: “I wouldn’t want you to be in-pocket as a result of this outing.”
The sheriff granted forfeiture of items including almost £500 in cash which was found in the car.
Co-accused awaiting sentence
No social work report was available for co-accused Manciu and his sentencing was further deferred until April 25.
Manciu had been on remand since appearing in private on January 26 last year until a bail application was granted on January 9 this year.
Solicitor Steve Lafferty questioned the valuation placed on the drugs by Detective Sergeant Derek Stewart, who gave evidence in the trial.
Mr Lafferty said he instructed his own expert witness who believed the cannabis price could max out at £121,000 if sold by the kilogramme, or £218,000 if sold in single-gramme deals.
Unlike Musollari, Manciu is not a first offender and has garnered serious and analogous convictions in Italy.
In 2014, he was jailed for a year and 10 months, and fined €10,000 at the Bologna Court of Appeal for possession of a controlled drug.
Three years later at the same court, he received a prison sentence of two years, wholly suspended for five years, for possession of a firearm without a certificate.
For that matter, he was also fined €1,200.