Unemployed father became drugs courier to keep up with pet payments
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An unemployed father who became a drug courier to pay for a family pet has avoided a jail sentence.
Instead, 36 year old Thomas Clark of Glenfinnan Road, Maryhill was ordered by Sheriff Sara Matheson to carry out 200 hours of unpaid community work when he appeared before her for sentence.
At an earlier hearing, Inverness Sheriff Court was told that Clark was caught transporting two bags of cannabis, worth up to £14,850, in the boot of a car when he was stopped by police on the A95.
His solicitor said Clark became involved in the illegal operation so that he could afford to keep up payments on the animal.
He had admitted being concerned in the supply of the class B drug and had sentence deferred for a background report.
Fiscal depute Pauline Gair told the court that Clark’s grey Ford C-Max was stopped by officers at Drumuillie, near Boat of Garten, on May 4 of last year.
“Intelligence suggested the occupant of the vehicle was acting as a courier and involved in the supplying of a controlled drug,” she said.
As officers detained and prepared to search him, he told them: “It’s in the boot.”
“The boot of the vehicle was thereafter searched and two vacuum bags of herbal substance were found,” said Mrs Gair.
Subsequent testing confirmed the substance to be 1096 grams of cannabis, with a value of £3,000 to £6,000 if sold in bulk, or £9,900 to £14,850 if sold in deals.
Solicitor advocate Shahid Latif told Sheriff Sara Matheson that his client, a father of four, had been motivated to become involved in the operation because he was struggling to keep up payments on a family pet.
He said: “He bought a pet. He paid a substantial amount of money for the pet, the agreement was instalments could be made towards the cost of the pet.”
Mr Latif said Clark made four payments towards the cost of the animal, but then lost his job, at which point: “The children were becoming increasingly attached to the pet.”
It was then he made the decision to become involved in moving the drugs, Mr Latif said.
