Man who brought cocaine to Shetland inside Greggs doughnuts jailed

A MAN from Rochdale who smuggled cocaine potentially worth nearly £15,000 to Shetland inside four Greggs doughnuts has been jailed at Lerwick Sheriff Court.

James Heaney, 31, admitted to being concerned in the supply of the class A drug after being stopped by police acting on intelligence on 10 December 2025.

Officers were tipped off that Heaney was likely to be smuggling drugs to Shetland through the NorthLink ferry last December, and boarded the boat in Lerwick alongside colleagues from Dogs Against Drugs.

Drug dogs immediately flagged Heaney’s suitcase, and when inspected a Greggs paper bag containing four doughnuts was found.

Each of the doughnuts, when cut in half, contained a spherical blue bag of cocaine.

The total weight of the cocaine came to 118.24 grams which, if sold as seen, would have realised a value of £5,000.

However procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said that if the cocaine had been broken down into its most lucrative deals, it could have sold for £14,750.

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When questioned by police, Heaney said he “never dealt drugs” in his life and that the cocaine was to sustain his own drug habit.

The court heard that Heaney had also given a false name and address when booking the ferry.

Defence agent Tommy Allan said that Heaney had been ordered to deliver the drugs to Shetland in order to pay off part of his growing drug debt.

Heaney was given “no option”, with threats also made to both him and his family if he did not do as he was told.

The police had been aware that there were credible threats to Heaney’s life, Allan said.

The solicitor said this was another example of someone with a serious drug habit and mental health issues being ordered to transport drugs to Shetland before being caught.

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Heaney “realises he should have gone to the police” but nonetheless had decided he had no chance but to make the delivery, Allan told the court.

He said Heaney did not know what exactly was in the packages, but did know that they contained drugs.

Heaney was “clearly not a major player” in the distribution of drugs, he added.

Allan said that while jail would clearly be at the forefront of Sheriff Harry Small’s mind, he said Heaney appeared to have “turned a corner” and was taking action to address his drug use and his mental health.

Heaney was not someone who had ever been to jail before, he added.

However Sheriff Small said that this was a “serious matter”, and that courts were expected to clamp down on those concerned in the supply of class A drugs.

He said that the mitigation offered was not sufficient for Heaney to avoid a custodial sentence.

Heaney was jailed for a total of 20 months, reduced from 30 months due to the timing of the plea.