Court / Man given three-year prison sentence for drug supply offence

A MAN who concealed heroin with a potential value of nearly £20,000 in a coffee jar and took it on the ferry to Shetland has been jailed.

Steven Davis, from Fife, was given a three year custodial sentence when he appeared at Lerwick Sheriff Court on Wednesday.

The 42-year-old previously admitted being concerned in the supply of the Class A drug diamorphine on 26 and 27 April last year at the ferry terminals in Aberdeen and Lerwick.

Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said the offence came to light when police officers, acting on intelligence, attended the Lerwick terminal as Davis disembarked the ferry.

The man intimated to officers that there was heroin in the rucksack he was carrying, the court heard.

Mackenzie said Davis was taken to Lerwick Police Station, where officers found two packets of heroin in a coffee jar, surrounded by coffee granules.

He said the total weight of the drugs was nearly 300 grams, and when broken down into sellable amounts it had a potential total value of £19,800.

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Mackenzie said Davis had connections with Shetland, and added that there was an “inflated” price of drugs in the isles compared to the mainland.

Regarding the offence, defence agent Tommy Allan said his client had owed money which had to be paid back.

He added that Davis had complied with enhanced bail supervision, but was realistic about the outcome of the case.

Sheriff Philip Mann said it appeared Davis had been “press-ganged” into supply, but said there was an alternative – alerting the police.

However the sheriff – who said he had sympathy for those addicted to drug use – said Davis “succumbed to temptation” to bring the heroin to Shetland.

Sheriff Mann added that people bringing drugs to island communities was in his mind an “aggravation” given the “adverse consequences” the drug trade can have in these areas.

He ruled there was no alternative to custody and imposed a three-year sentence.