A career criminal who wept uncontrollably and shook his head in disbelief after being convicted for the third time of drug dealing has been jailed.
Thomas Foat, 32, was given a sentence of six years and six months by judge Lady Haldane.
The High Court in Edinburgh had heard how Foat had left his home city of Liverpool to come to live in Aberdeen.
Jurors heard how he started selling drugs and had taken over a property at the city’s Wallace House tower block.
The householder reported Foat to the police and officers arrested him on April 12 2023. They found drugs at the house worth around £10,000.
Weeping drug dealer handed hankie
During proceedings, Foat denied any wrongdoing. He described one witness who gave evidence against him as being a “crazy crackhead.”
However, jurors convicted him on two charges of supplying cocaine and cannabis.
Judge Lady Haldane told Foat he was now coming under the terms of tough government legislation designed to tackle the illegal narcotics trade.
The law states that offenders who have been convicted on three different occasions of supplying drugs should receive a minimum of seven years.
The Liverpudlian was given the warning moments after a jury at the High Court in Edinburgh convicted him for supplying cocaine and cannabis to users in Aberdeen.
Foat, a remand prisoner at HMP Low Moss near Bishopbriggs East Dunbartonshire, broke down as the jury returned their verdicts.
A court official had to hand him a handkerchief and a glass of water.
Lady Haldane told him: “Stop shaking your head please Mr Foat.”
Previous convictions
It is not the first time that Foat has been convicted of drug dealing. In 2014, he was given a four and a half year sentence by a judge sitting at Mold Crown Court in Wales.
On that occasion, the court heard how Foat had been caught during a police operation designed to tackle drug supply routes into Wales from Liverpool.
Foat was bringing cocaine into the country via a taxi from his home city.
The court heard how in 2013 officers noticed a Volvo taxi was travelling into the area daily, sometimes twice a day. Foat was arrested and officers analysed his mobile phone. They found incriminating texts messages which proved he was involved in the drugs trade.
Lady Haldane deferred sentence on Foat following proceedings last month in order to obtain a report on his background.
On Thursday, she decided that a jail term of six years and six months was the most appropriate disposal to be given to him.