Heroin supplier gets two years behind bars

A MAN who took nearly £5,000 worth of heroin on the ferry from Aberdeen to Lerwick has been sent to prison for just over two years.

Andrew Gibson, prisoner of Grampian Prison, had only been out of jail for ten days before committing the offence on 5 June.

He appeared from custody at Lerwick Sheriff Court on Wednesday after previously admitting being concerned in the supply of the class A drug.

Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said police acted on intelligence and traced the 38-year-old’s vehicle after it came off the overnight ferry.

Gibson was in the vehicle alongside a bag containing around 100g of heroin, which had a value of £4,800.

Defence agent Sathpal Singh said his client had a history of taking drugs that stretched back around two decades.

He had only been out of prison for ten days before committing the offence, Singh conceded.

Gibson was “disappointed in himself” and had intended to “remove himself from this lifestyle”, Singh said.

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He encouraged Sheriff Kevin Veal to appreciate that Gibson had already been in custody since 7 June on the matter.

Sheriff Veal said the type of drug involved, Gibson’s poor criminal record and the fact that he committed the offence shortly after leaving jail meant a custodial sentence was the only option.

He placed him behind bars for 27 months, backdating the sentence to when Gibson first entered custody in June.