An Inverness man caught drug-driving around the Highland capital has been banned from the roads.
Andrew Bell appeared agitated and had constricted pupils when officers stopped his car in Merkinch.
A roadside saliva test came back positive for cocaine.
Bell, 41, appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court for sentencing having previously admitted a single drug-driving charge.
Prosecutor Adelle Gray said it was around 11am on September 28 2021 when police officers asked Bell to pull over.
Drug-driver was ‘agitated’
She said: “Upon speaking with the accused it was observed that he was agitated. He had redness around the eyes and his pupils were constricted.”
The fiscal depute told Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald that officers carried a saliva test, which tested positive for cocaine and negative for cannabis.
Bell, of Milton Crescent, Inverness, was found to have no less than 14 microgrammes of cocaine per litre of blood – the drug-drive limit is 10 microgrammes.
Bell’s solicitor, Clare Russell, revealed that her client’s driving record included a number of previous convictions.
Inverness drug-driver banned from roads
She added that her client, who suffers from poor mental health “struggles on a daily basis with substance misuse”.
Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald fined Bell £470 and banned him from the roads for three years.