Fined for having diazepam

A FORTY two year old man who admitted possession of class C drug diazepam has been fined £600 at Lerwick Sheriff Court.

Christopher Leask, of 133 Sandveien, Lerwick, pleaded guilty to having 25 tablets, with a value of around £25, at the town’s Scalloway Road on 1 February this year.

Defence agent Tommy Allan told the court his client had paid £10 for what he thought was the legal high triazepam, though he was aware there was a risk the tablets might contain diazepam.

Leask fully cooperated with the police when they stopped him. Allan said his client had suffered from mental health problems and a long-standing difficulty with drug misuse.

Around the time of this offence he had been self-medicating, but the solicitor said that was no longer a feature of Leask’s life.

Sheriff Philip Mann said that, with a criminal record including past convictions for more serious drug offences, every time Leask appeared before the court “raises the possibility of custody”.

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But “with some reluctance” he was content to deal with the matter by imposing a £600 fine, reduced from £750 to reflect the early guilty plea.

Meanwhile, a woman who admitted driving a vehicle without a valid insurance policy has been given three penalty points and fined £300.

Yvonne Duncan, 45, of 5 South Road, Lerwick, committed the offence on the town’s A970 road on 11 November last year.