A man caught with cocaine worth thousands of pounds has been told he’s unlikely to be jailed.
Scott Buchanan claimed he was only a courier and became involved with the drugs after he ran into trouble with dealers.
At Hamilton Sheriff Court, the 31-year-old admitted being concerned in the supply of the Class A drug on June 20 last year.
Jennifer McLaren, prosecuting, said police were tipped off that a grey Audi would be carrying drugs and stopped the vehicle on Hamilton Road, Bellshill.
Ms McLaren told the court: “The accused was driving while his partner was in the front passenger seat.
“The vehicle was searched and two bags of white powder were found.
“One bag contained about 130g of cocaine and the other had what was suspected to be a mixing agent. Officers also seized £390 in mixed notes from Buchanan’s wallet.”
The court heard the cocaine had a street value of £3500.
Defence agent Ian Scott said Buchanan, of Bellshill, had been in “a position of some difficulty with local drug dealers” and was forced to act as a courier.
Sheriff Thomas Millar said a criminal justice social work report on the accused was “very positive”.
The sheriff added: “I’m inclined to follow its recommendation for a high level of unpaid community work and supervision.
“He has committed no further offences and has resolved that he will no longer be involved with drugs.”
Sentence was deferred until July 31 as community work is not available at present because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
