A Hamilton man who flushed cocaine worth £2000 down his toilet pan to thwart a police drugs search has avoided a prison sentence.
Daniel Daly, 35, was fined £800 at Hamilton Sheriff Court on Friday.
He admitted possessing the Class A drug and obstructing the police at his home in Back o’ Barns in August 2019.
The court heard the cocaine was recovered by an officer who used his skills as a former plumber to retrieve it from the drainage system.
Daly, whose criminal record includes a nine-year jail stretch for attempted murder, said he had a serious cocaine habit and claimed to be using 3g a day at the time of the police raid.
Daly told the police he had bought the cocaine for £1000 – half its usual value – and it was all for his own use.
His lawyer, Eddie Robertson, called drugs expert Kenneth Lee as a defence witness.
Mr Lee said it was “plausible” that the cocaine was all for personal use.
Daly was cleared of the more serious charge of possession with intent to supply.
