Private hire taxi driver who was caught with almost £300,000 of high purity cocaine hidden in his car has been jailed for three years.
Gordon Mitchell , 36, was nabbed near to Gorbals leisure centre after police spotted him doing a number of three-point turns in his Volkswagen Passat and stopped him.
The High Court in Glasgow heard today that he was couriering the drug in order to pay off part of a gambling debt.
Prosecutor Lindsey Dalziel said the car was searched on December 2 last year and initially only two mobile phones were found - one which appeared encrypted.
Miss Dalziel added: "A trained dog handler was contacted. The dog then gave a strong indication at the centre console of the car."
The compartment was yanked open and a plastic bag was found stashed inside.
It contained a taped package of 996g of cocaine with a purity of 73 per cent.
Officers went onto search Mitchell's home in the city's Shettleston.
Officers found £1,020 in cash as well as three more mobile phones.
The court was told the cocaine had a potential value of £290,906.
It emerged Mitchell - who pled guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine - already had 11 previous convictions including for theft, assault and carrying weapons.
Defence counsel Allan McLeod said: “There was not a special compartment made to hide the drugs. The console was broken and he put the cocaine in there.
“He ran up gambling debts and was offered an opportunity to clear a substantial part of the debt. He knew the package contained drugs but not how much or what drug.
“He realises he made a catastrophic mistake.”
Judge Lord Weir told Mitchell: “I accept you had significant gambling debts. Your gambling addiction brought you here today.”
